Reversing The Downward Spiral Of Heart Failure
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Medtech start-ups are pioneering innovative device solutions that they hope will end the vicious cycle of costly hospitalizations and declining patient health. Profiles of BioVentrix, Calon-Cardio Technology, Cibiem, DC Devices, and LoneStar Heart.
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LoneStar Heart Inc.
LoneStar Heart's injectable biopolymer Algisyl-LVR represents a new advanced HF treatment strategy based on a medically accepted principle that a reduction in muscle tension and wall stress of the dilated heart will improve its function. The company, which originally envisioned Algisyl-LVR as a carrier for targeted delivery of biologics, drugs, or stem cells, discovered in animal studies that use of the biopolymer by itself had a profound effect on improving the mechanics of the heart.
DC Devices Inc.
DC Devices Inc. has developed the first transcatheter, permanent implant for treating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The implant, placed in the atrial septum, creates a small, controlled shunt, allowing blood to move from the higher-pressure left atrium to the lower pressure, more compliant right atrium; this serves to reduce left atrial pressure and relieve HF symptoms, without compromising cardiac output.
Cibiem Inc.
Cibiem Inc.’s catheter-based CBM system is designed to modulate the carotid body, a tiny group of chemoreceptors located at the fork of the carotid artery that helps regulate respiratory activity. The start-up believes its technology could mean new treatment possibilities for a broad range of diseases including heart failure, where it could address the remodeling that takes place as well as alleviate such symptoms as breathlessness.