Cerebral protection during percutaneous carotid intervention: wich device should be used ?

Embolic complications remain the major and unpredictable clinical event during carotid angioplasty and stenting. Cerebral protection devices could play an important role in the prevention of such emboli. Protection devices such as occlusion balloons, filters and reversed flow devices are currently undergoing clinical evaluation and appear to be promising in reducing the incidence of embolic events. This article provides an overview of the three different types of embolic protection devices.