Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/1079661
t m c » p u l s e | f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 32 Help for Failing Hearts TMC-based startups hope to change the way heart failure is treated B y R y a n H o l e y w e l l H ow do we combat heart failure? Two startups based in the Texas Medical Center, CorInnova and Alleviant Medical, are working on novel solutions. Both companies are part of the TMC Venture Fund portfolio, which aims to bolster innovation across Houston's health care ecosystem. The $25 million fund launched in 2017. A gentle squeeze A device in development at CorInnova aims to use "soft robot- ics" to prolong the lives of patients suffering from heart failure. The new device wraps around the heart and squeezes it to increase blood flow—but importantly, never comes in contact with blood itself. Leaders at CorInnova say that lack of blood contact will make it dramat- ically safer for patients, reducing complications like stroke, blood damage and kidney problems that can be associated with other heart devices. "Not touching the blood is a big deal, as this feature offers a dramatic advantage over standard therapy," CorInnova CEO William Altman said. The company is housed within Johnson & Johnson Innovation's JLABS @ TMC accelerator. In 2015, CorInnova received a $6.1 million investment from the Wellcome Trust, a United Kingdom foundation that supports health research and innovation and has said the technol- ogy could be "transformative." The TMC Venture Fund announced its investment in CorInnova in 2018. "CorInnova could revolutionize the market the way the pacemaker did," said Juliana Garaizar, director of the TMC Venture Fund. Heart failure occurs when the heart is no longer able to supply enough blood to meet the body's needs. There is no cure. Though the preferred method for treatment is a heart transplant, precious few hearts are available. Long-term devices, known as chronic LVADs (left ventricular assist devices), can also be used to help with blood flow, but these pumps require invasive surgery. Furthermore, fewer than 12,000 LVADs are implanted annually for long-term use, in part, due to strict eligibil- ity require- ments for the surgery— generally, those over age 65 may not be eligible. Short- term LVADs (for less than seven days' use in the hospital) also touch the blood and many patients can't use them either. CorInnova hopes its device can help fill the gap. "If you don't qualify for an LVAD—and 90 percent of patients don't qualify—this would be an alternative," Altman said. The device could support patients in the hospital, allowing them to recover and return home after a short-term heart injury. Or, for patients with end-stage failure, the device could extend life by six months to a year in a gentler way, without the risk of blood contact, Altman said. The CorInnova device encases the heart, its saline-filled cham- bers closely hugging the organ. It inflates with air in synchrony with the heartbeat, gently squeezing the heart to increase blood flow. The soft, robotic device is collapsible and can be implanted through minimally-invasive surgery. The company says hospital stays following device implantation would be 80 percent shorter than for long-term LVADs, and adverse effects could be at least 30 percent fewer, compared to both short-term and long-term LVADs. And most patients with heart failure are too CorInnova CEO William Altman holds up a device that encases the heart and squeezes, to increase blood flow. CorInnova's device could support patients in the hospital after a short-term heart injury.