Engineering Precision Flow

Endovascular Systems

Radiofrequency energy is delivered from a console that does not simply output a fixed wattage. The catheter carries a temperature sensor at the heating element and reports back continuously; the generator's algorithm then raises or lowers power to hold the set target. Impedance is monitored on the same circuit.

That closed loop is the difference between a dose and a setting. If the segment is not fully exsanguinated, or the catheter is not apposed to the wall, the console sees it as a temperature shortfall at high power and says so — rather than quietly delivering an inadequate treatment.

What the console monitors

• Element temperature, 10–130 °C, accurate to ±3 °C
• Delivered RF power against the catheter's rated ceiling
• Circuit impedance, with alarms outside 32–300 Ω
• Cycle countdown, cumulative treatment time and cycle count

Catheter Technologies

A sterile, single-use bipolar catheter. No return electrode and no patient plate: the circuit is contained within the element itself, which is what allows the working length to be treated segment by segment rather than continuously.

The heating element is echogenic, so tip position is confirmed on duplex rather than inferred. Shaft markers set the pull-back increment — when the last treatment mark clears the sheath hub, the run is complete.

Choosing between the families

• CFB 2.3 — the routine choice for great saphenous work
• CFA 2.3 — adds a 0.025″ guidewire lumen for tortuous segments
• CFC 2.0 and CFD 1.6 — narrower shafts on a 6F sheath, for smaller-calibre veins
• Short elements (1–3 cm) — below-knee segments, accessory veins and short refluxing lengths
• 100 cm working length — for longer limbs

Minimally Invasive Solutions

The procedure runs under tumescent local anaesthesia through a percutaneous puncture. There is no groin incision, no general anaesthetic and no theatre admission — which is what makes it viable in an office theatre rather than a hospital list.

Tumescent infiltration does two jobs at once: it anaesthetises the perivenous space and it puts a fluid layer between the vein and the skin, which is the principal defence against thermal injury to skin and adjacent nerves.