N-ovative Health Technologies (NHT), a National University of Science and Technology (NUST) based tech startup has announced to commercially launch Made in Pakistan cardiac stents this month (December).

As per the company, this nationally ground-breaking initiative by NHT aims to make healthcare more affordable for patients as local manufacturing of high-quality medical devices will bring advantages for the entire healthcare system, including hospitals, clinics, medical practitioners, etc., in addition to a flourishing local industry and a prosperous economy in years to come.

Back in October, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the first facility in the country that will locally manufacture cardiac stents. The facility - 'N-ovative Health Technologies' has started mass production of cardiac stents and angioplasty balloon catheters for general public at affordable prices.

A cardiac stent is used to treat narrowed or blocked coronary arteries. It can also be used to improve blood flow immediately following a heart attack.

Pakistan’s first coronary stent system has features including low recoil, superior cobalt chromium alloy, optimum crossing profile and crush resistance, and excellent bio-compatibility.

The N-ovative Health Technologies at NUST will produce medical devices and implants including Bare-metal Stents (BMS), Drug-eluting Stents (DES) and Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty Balloon Catheters (PTCA balloon catheters).