Leading researchers at Stanford University have announced a major breakthrough in treating stroke and heart attack patients that is a better, faster, and safer way to save lives than anything currently available.
In addition, the new treatment doesn’t rely on medication.
The new device, called the milli-spinner thrombectomy, has shown extraordinary success in clearing deadly blood clots during strokes, heart attacks, and pulmonary embolisms, according to a new release from Stanford University.
This mechanical tool—essentially a rotating tube lined with specially designed fins and slits—enters the body through a catheter.
It compresses and extracts blood clots by physically shrinking them down to just 5% of their original size, without breaking them apart.
That’s a key difference from current tools that often shatter clots, leaving behind fragments that can lodge in the brain or lungs and cause even more damage.
In the release, the senior author, Renee Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, said:
“With existing technology, there’s no way to reduce the size of the clot.
“They rely on deforming and rupturing the clot to remove it.
“What’s unique about the milli-spinner is that it applies compression and shear forces to shrink the entire clot.”
The innovation could be a game-changer in stroke care, particularly for ischemic strokes, where a clot blocks blood flow to the brain and every minute costs nearly 2 million neurons.
Current clot-removal methods only succeed on the first try about 50% of the time, and they completely fail 15% of the time, researchers noted.
In contrast, the milli-spinner nearly doubles that effectiveness, especially in hard cases.
For the most stubborn clots—those that modern tools only remove 11% of the time, the milli-spinner clears the artery on the first try 90% of the time.
Dr. Jeremy Heit, the co-author and chief of neuroimaging and neurointervention at Stanford, said:
“This is a sea-change technology that will drastically improve our ability to help people.”
The results of the breakthrough—tested in both live animals and high-tech blood-flow simulations—were published June 4 in Nature, one of the most prestigious science journals in the world.
And this isn’t just a one-trick pony.
Researchers say the same mechanical clot-shrinking mechanism could be used in other medical procedures, such as removing kidney stone fragments, offering an alternative to more invasive or drug-heavy treatments.
Now, the team is pushing for clinical trials, with hopes to move the device toward full-scale use in hospitals.
“We’re working to bring this into clinical settings, where it could significantly boost the success rate of thrombectomy procedures and save patients’ lives,” Zhao said.
“What makes this technology truly exciting is its unique mechanism to actively reshape and compact clots, rather than just extracting them.”
In a world where bureaucracy often slows down life-saving advancements, this innovation serves as a powerful reminder of what’s possible when real engineers and doctors are given the freedom to think differently and prioritize patient outcomes over the industry status quo.
