AngioJet®
Brand name for the Possis Medical family of fluid-based thrombus-removal products.

Angioplasty
Using a temporarily inflated balloon on a catheter to widen a narrowed or blocked blood vessel (in coronary arteries, procedure is referred to as percutaneous translumenal coronary angioplasty, or PTCA).

Atherectomy
Plaque removal.

Cardiac
Pertaining to the heart.

Catheter
A medical device consisting of a thin, flexible tube, usually applied inside a blood vessel.

Clinical Research / Clinical Trial
Medical research to show that a device, drug, or other treatment is safe and effective in humans.

Coronary
Relating to the vessels of the heart.

CE_Mark
This label gives access to European markets and indicates compliance with the Medical Device Directives.

Distal
Further away from the heart, or from the point of origin. (The opposite of "distal" is "proximal.")

Embolus
A thrombus that has migrated from its original site in the body.

510(k)
A marketing application to the FDA which shows a device is "substantially equivalent" to another legally marketed medical device in the U.S.

Humanitarian Device Exemption ("HDE")
This FDA authorization allows marketing of a device to treat a condition that affects only a small number of people. A humanitarian device must show a probable benefit that outweighs the risk of its use.

Institutional Review Board ("IRB")
A hospital-based committee which reviews and approves the conduct of clinical research at the hospital

Investigational Device Exemption (IDE)
An application to the FDA to conduct clinical trials of an investigational device.

Ischemic
Lack of oxygen (ischemia).

Mechanical Thrombectomy
A treatment that uses an endovascular device to fragment, disperse, and/or evacuate blood clots in a blood vessel.

Myocardial Infarction
A heart attack, caused by sudden blockage or loss of blood flow.

Occlusion
A blockage.

Peripheral
Situated nearer the periphery of the body, pertaining to arms and legs.

Percutaneous
Passage through the skin.

Plaque
A deposit of fatty material on the inside surface of an artery, as in atherosclerosis.

Pre-Market Approval (PMA)
An FDA approval designating the device to be "safe and effective" for its label-indicated use(s).

Restenosis
Significant recurrence of narrowing after treatment.

RheolyticT
Possis-trademarked term for fluid-based clot removal.

Saphenous Vein/Saphenous Vein Graft
A large vein removed from the leg and used to construct a surgical bypass around an occluded coronary artery.

Stent
Expandable wire tube, used to widen and support a blocked or narrowed blood vessel.

Thrombectomy
Medical procedure for removing a blood clot.

Thrombus
A blood clot.

Venous
Pertaining to veins.