Dr. Richard Heuser, chief of cardiology at St. Luke’s Medical Center and Phoenix Heart Center was given the Top Cardiovascular Innovation Award from the Cardiovascular Research Technologies for Medical Innovation.

Heuser also is founder of Arizona Medical Systems, which developed a new technology called the Punctual Guidewire, which has been issued three patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and has been used in a pre-clinical study.

The device allows cardiologists to use a tiny needle to access arteries and veins, helping interventional cardiologists and other vascular specialists eliminate steps in their procedures.

The device is expected to have a tremendous effect in more than 13 million cardiology procedures in the United States.

“The Punctual Guidewire is a simple yet novel idea that serves a unique purpose, flipping the dichotomy of requiring a larger needle to introduce a larger wire, to allowing a far smaller needle for the same large diameter wire,” Heuser said.