A cutting balloon is an angioplasty

Angioplasty

Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size...

 device invented by Barath et al. used in percutaneous coronary interventions. It has a special balloon tip with small blades, that are activated when the balloon is inflated. This procedure is different from Rotoblation (Percutaneous Transluminal Rotational Atherectomy

Atherectomy

Atherectomy is a minimally invasive surgical method of removing, mainly, atherosclerosis from a large blood vessel within the body. Today, it is generally used to effectively treat peripheral arterial disease of the lower extremities...

or PCRA) whereby a diamond tipped device spins at high revolutions to cut away calcific (chalky) atheroma usually prior to coronary stenting.

External links

• Overview Coronary Artery Disease Treatment - Coronary Interventions ANGIOPLASTY, STENTS AND ATHERECTOMY (Cleveland Clinic)
• Cardiology Channel