A tiny balloon that clears blocked blood vessels could banish impotence. The deflated silicone balloon, no bigger than a grain of rice, is placed on the end of a hollow plastic tube and inserted through the skin into the lower abdomen. It is then fed into the pudendal artery, which supplies the genitals with blood. Blockages in this blood vessel, caused by the same fatty deposits that trigger heart disease, are a major factor in erectile dysfunction. Using live X-ray images to navigate, doctors inflate the balloon to unblock the artery by ‘squashing’ back the fatty deposits — this restores blood flow which will improve erections. At the touch of a button, the balloon is then deflated and removed.