Tools of the Trade

In the early 1950s, Dr. Sven Seldinger revolutionized medicine when he described his percutaneous vascular access technique. This technique has led to the development of highly specialized endovascular procedures in many fields including radiology, cardiology, and vascular surgery. Utilizing this method, physicians are able to percutaneously treat pathologies that were previously only treated through open techniques. Although percutaneous access has been refined over the past 60 years, the original concept has remained the same: needle, wire, and catheter. This chapter covers a selection of the most commonly used devices.