Balloon catheters are used in the dilation of constricted blood vessels to prevent heart attacks.

The blood vessels get narrowed due to deposition of fatty substances leading to the obstruction of flow of blood to the heart resulting in a heart attack. To prevent this phenomenon, balloon angioplasty is performed using balloon catheter to expand the narrowed vessel and allow free flow of blood to the heart. A metallic scaffolding, called stent, is also implanted in the inflated vessel to prevent recurrence of the phenomenon.

The catheter has been developed by the city-based Cardiac Research and Education (CARE) foundation which was also instrumental in developing the country's first coronary stent, called Kalam-Raju stent. Since itsdevelopment last year, the Kalam-Raju stent had so far been implanted in more than 1000 patients in the country.

The indigenous catheter had undergone extensive animal and clinical trials under the guidance of eminent cardiologist B Somaraju. It would cost around Rs 10,000 while the imported ones are priced at around Rs 20,000.

The National Research and Development Corporation (NRDC) would provide the intellectual property right protection to the invention in India and abroad.