Scepter™ XC: Extra-Compliant Balloon Microcatheter for Wide-Neck and Variable-Diameter Intracranial Vessels

The Scepter™ XC (Extra Compliant) shares the dual-lumen 0.027 in architecture of Scepter C but uses a balloon material with higher compliance, allowing the same nominal-size balloon to conform to a wider range of vessel diameters and aneurysm neck widths at lower relative inflation pressures. This extra compliance is the XC’s defining property and the primary reason to choose it over the standard Scepter C.

Catalog: SCXC4x20 (4 mm, 20 mm) and SCXC7x20 (7 mm, 20 mm). Navigation, hub design, and working lumen specifications are identical to Scepter C, allowing operators to apply the same technique with the critical caveat that lower inflation volumes are needed for the same effective diameter, and the XC will over-extend the nominal size more readily.

Choose Scepter C for well-characterised vessel diameters with predictable fill-to-diameter relationships. Choose Scepter XC when: (1) the vessel diameter varies significantly along the balloon landing zone (e.g. bridging from ICA to MCA across a wide bifurcation neck); (2) the aneurysm neck is very wide and the operator needs the balloon to extend beyond the standard Scepter C nominal size to ensure complete coverage; (3) the vessel wall is particularly fragile (post-SAH, elderly) where lower inflation pressure to achieve occlusion is safer.

Against HyperForm (Medtronic) — the competing high-compliance single-lumen balloon — Scepter XC’s dual-lumen design allowing contrast injection during inflation remains its primary technical advantage. Real-time angiographic assessment during balloon inflation provides certainty about neck coverage that single-lumen alternatives cannot offer without deflation.

Scepter XC is most indicated for very wide-neck aneurysms with dome-to-neck ratio less than 1.2:1 where the neck spans a vessel segment with variable diameter or bifurcation geometry. Basilar tip aneurysms with flat necks extending into both PCAs, and ICA terminus aneurysms with broad necks spanning the MCA-ACA bifurcation, are typical XC use cases.

In PHIL delivery for AVM feeding pedicles with irregular or variable diameter, the XC’s higher compliance allows effective flow arrest across the pedicle diameter range without precise size-matching. In ruptured aneurysm emergency coiling where precise vessel diameter measurement is limited, the XC’s broader diameter conformance reduces the risk of inadequate neck coverage from a slight size mismatch.

Start with a lower inflation volume than you would use with Scepter C for the same vessel. The XC will reach a larger effective diameter at the same volume — titrate upward slowly under fluoroscopy until angiographic occlusion is confirmed. The XC’s compliance means it can over-dilate beyond its nominal size more readily than Scepter C.

In wide bifurcation aneurysms, position the XC so the balloon mid-point lies at the widest part of the neck. Extra compliance will allow the balloon to conform to the full bifurcation geometry. If adequate neck coverage is still not achieved, repositioning to a different working projection may reveal coverage that was not visible in the original view.

Modern Medical Solutions is the authorised MicroVention Terumo distributor for Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Scepter XC is available in SCXC4x20 and SCXC7x20 for neurointerventional programmes in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Programs should stock both Scepter C and XC to cover the full range of aneurysm neck geometries.

Contact Modern Medical Solutions to discuss the full Scepter family alongside BOBBY and Headway microcatheters for a complete balloon remodelling and embolization portfolio.