UKE registers BALANCE trial comparing balloon and self-expanding TAVI valves in small aortic annuli

This week's notable item is a newly registered trial from Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf comparing two transcatheter aortic valve designs.

• The "BALANCE" trial (NCT07794306) is a randomized, post-market study designed to test whether Meril's Octapro+ balloon-expanding valve system is non-inferior in clinical and hemodynamic terms to the Navitor system at 30 days and 12 months after the procedure¹. The study is listed as not yet recruiting, with an estimated start date of 2026-10-26.¹ Patients will be randomized on a 2:1 basis between the Meril balloon-expanding device and the Abbott self-expanding device¹, and the trial plans to enroll 510 participants and is aimed at treatment of aortic valve stenosis¹.