A Rotating Cutting Tool to Remove Hard Cemented Deposits in Heart Blood Vessels without Damaging Soft Vessel Walls

A rotating cutting tool was developed to remove hard cemented deposits in the heart blood vessels without damaging the soft vessel walls. The new tool has a “grater-like” configuration which is made of anodized aluminum with 20|im high micro-blades on a 2mm diameter tip, and it rotates at 200,000 rpm underwater. An evaluation test demonstrated the feasibility of the new tool by cutting the hard shell, and not the soft white, of a hardboiled egg. The water pressure forms a hydrodynamic film around the tool tip to press down the soft tissue, protecting it from any unwanted cuts.