POSSIS MEDICAL Minneapolis, Minnesota; New Product, New Clients For Medical Firm.(THE NEW AMERICA)

Byline: MARILYN MUCH

When Possis Medical Inc. in December launched an easier-to-use version of its catheter, the company took a big step toward increasing its market share.

Possis makes the AngioJet system, which removes blood clots without major surgery.

The system uses a small catheter, inserted inside the patient's body, to pump saline jets to the source of the clots. It then pulverizes the clot material and sends it back through the catheter for disposal. It's equipped with a pump and a console -- or drive unit -- to power the pump.

Doctors deliver catheters to the treatment site using two methods. One, called over the wire, requires two people to operate. The other, called rapid exchange, requires only one person.

Most doctors use the rapid-delivery design for procedures in the heart. But until recently, Possis' flagship XMI catheter was sold only in an over the-wire configuration.

That changed in February, when the company began a U.S. rollout of its XMI-RX product, a rapid-exchange version of its catheter. It did a limited launch in December.