National First Case! Successful Implementation of Transradial Renal Artery Sympathetic Ultrasound Ablation (RDN)

September 3 – The nation's first transradial-approach ultrasound renal denervation (RDN) catheter, designed and developed by Mednovo, was clinically applied at Tianjin First Central Hospital to successfully treat a patient with resistant hypertension. This marks a new technological breakthrough in minimally invasive interventional treatment for resistant hypertension and fills a domestic technological gap in this field.

Background

Hypertension is the non-communicable disease with the highest prevalence in China and the most severe cerebrovascular and cardiovascular complications. In recent years, the prevalence of hypertension among young and middle-aged populations has shown a more pronounced upward trend.

Currently, medications are commonly used in clinical practice to lower blood pressure. Many patients require concurrent use of multiple antihypertensive drugs with different mechanisms of action to bring both systolic and diastolic blood pressure to target levels. Excessive medication use increases patients' financial burden to a certain extent, and also raises the risk of adverse drug reactions and inappropriate drug-drug interactions.

Renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) is currently the core minimally invasive treatment technique for resistant hypertension. Traditional procedures predominantly use the femoral artery approach, which has limitations including prolonged postoperative bed rest, high bleeding risk, and poor patient experience, thereby constraining the clinical adoption of this technique to some degree.

Patient and Procedure Information

The patient is a 54-year-old female with a history of hypertension for over 20 years. Her blood pressure remained poorly controlled despite medication, classified as Grade 3 hypertension. The patient was preliminarily screened before the procedure and enrolled in Mednovo's prospective, multicenter, blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial titled "Safety and Efficacy of the Single-Use Renal Artery Ultrasound Ablation Catheter and Renal Artery Ultrasound Ablation Generator for the Treatment of Essential Hypertension."

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The procedure was performed by the hypertension interventional specialist team of Lu Chengzhi and Sun Xiaoqiang at Tianjin First Central Hospital. They innovatively adopted a combined approach of transradial access + ultrasound ablation. Under local anesthesia, the operators established access through a tiny puncture site at the radial artery of the wrist. With precise image-guided positioning and mature interventional operating techniques, they delivered the ultrasound ablation catheter accurately to the renal artery. Ultrasound energy was used to ablate and block renal sympathetic nerve conduction, reducing sympathetic nerve activity without causing damage to the renal artery, thereby achieving minimally invasive, safe, and efficient blood pressure reduction.

Operator Evaluation

Dr. Lu Chengzhi stated:

"Compared with traditional approaches, this innovative transradial procedure is extremely minimally invasive, involves minimal intraoperative blood loss, and does not require prolonged bed rest. Patients can move freely immediately after surgery, which significantly shortens the recovery period, markedly reduces the risk of postoperative complications, and greatly improves the patient care experience. Meanwhile, ultrasound ablation offers advantages such as uniform energy delivery, strong targeting, and controllable lesion size, effectively overcoming the limitations of conventional ablation modalities."

Expert Profile

Chengzhi LU Party Branch Secretary and Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tianjin First Central Hospital Chief Physician M.D., Ph.D. Doctoral and Master's Supervisor Expert enjoying the State Council Special Government Allowance

One of the inaugural "Tianjin Famous Physicians"; Standing Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and of the Hypertension Branch; Chairman of the Cardiovascular Disease Branch of Tianjin Medical Association; Vice Chairman of the Cardiovascular Physicians Branch of Tianjin Medical Doctor Association; Executive Director of Tianjin Heart Association and Chairman of the Hypertension and Heart Failure Professional Committee; Standing Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Health Branch of the China International Medical Exchange and Promotion Association.

Expert Profile

Sun Xiaoqiang M.D., Ph.D., Associate Chief Physician, Master's Supervisor Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tianjin First Central Hospital

National Expert Reviewer for Pan-Vascular Disease Management Centers; Member of the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Group of the Cardiovascular Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association; Member of the Hypertension Branch of the Chinese Geriatric Health Care Association; Vice Chairman of the Heart Failure Professional Committee of Tianjin Chest Pain and Resuscitation Society; Member of the Cardiovascular Physicians Branch of Tianjin Medical Doctor Association; Youth Member of the Cardiovascular Disease Branch of Tianjin Medical Association; Member of the Interventional Physicians Branch of Tianjin Medical Doctor Association; Youth Committee Member of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Inner Mongolia (G4) Coronary Heart Disease Expert Forum; Member of the Chest Pain Committee of Tianjin Association of Integrative Medicine; Youth Editorial Board Member of Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications.

Research focus: Hypertension and myocardial signaling pathway mechanisms; pathogenesis and intervention of diabetic cardiomyopathy; precision interventional diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease; and cardiovascular imaging assessment.

The successful performance of China's first transradial ultrasound ablation RDN procedure represents a major innovative breakthrough in the field of interventional hypertension treatment. It will drive the development of interventional hypertension therapy toward greater minimal invasiveness, enhanced safety, and broader accessibility, offering a new treatment option for patients with resistant hypertension, drug intolerance, or poor medication adherence.