EuroCor GmBH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Opto Circuits (India) Ltd (OCI), a leading manufacturer of healthcare devices, announced that its 'paclitaxel eluting valvuloplasty balloon' was the first ever to be used for Aortic Valvuloplasty on September 26, 2008 in Athens (Greece) during the Athens Interventional Cardiovascular Therapeutics (AICT).

The procedure was successfully performed by Dr K Spargias at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre, Athens on a patient with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who could not be put under general anaesthesia for surgical or transpical valve replacement.

Commenting on this development, Vinod Ramnani, chairman & managing director, OCI, said, "We are delighted to report that the procedure was successful and the patient is recovering well. We hope through this clinical procedure to expand the life expectancy of patients in poor heart conditions. Eurocor is working on the availability of this product worldwide."

Aortic valvuloplasty is the repair of a stenotic aortic valve using a balloon catheter inside the valve. The balloon is placed into the aortic valve that has become stiff from calcium build-up. The balloon is then inflated in an effort to increase the opening size of the valve and improving blood flow.

Opto Circuits (India) Ltd (OCIL) is a leading manufacturer of healthcare equipments in India. The product profile includes digital thermometers, sensors, probes, pulse oximeters, patient monitoring systems, Stents, Catheters and innovative products in the pipeline.