Devices & Diagnostics

Therapeutic hypothermia startup raises $1M, looks to clinical studies

Therapeutic hypothermia medical device maker Life Core Technologies is planning several clinical studies aimed at […]

Therapeutic hypothermia medical device maker Life Core Technologies is planning several clinical studies aimed at boosting adoption of its brain-cooling device.

To fund those studies, Cleveland-area Life Core has closed on a $1 million series A investment and is on track to close $2 million more, CEO Mike Burke said.

The $1 million in funding that’s already been secured was sourced from friends, family and individual angel investors. Life Core expects to attract the additional funding from several of the private angel investment groups in Ohio, as well as economic development groups supported by the state.

Life Core’s device, the Excel Cerebral Cooling System, resembles a neck-immobilization collar and works via a proprietary chemical that can reach temperatures as low as -5 degrees Celsius within seconds of activation. The chemical allows the collar to cool blood that’s going to the brain, which induces mild hypothermia.

The idea behind the device is that cooling the brain helps reduce the chances of injury to tissue once blood flow is restored to patients who’ve suffered from heart attack, stroke or traumatic brain injury. At normal temperatures, a rush of blood to the brain that follows a traumatic event can damage tissue.

The device is intended for use by emergency first responders and in hospital intensive care units. Emergency medical services departments from 86 municipalities are using the cooling device, Burke said.

Life Core is planning a total of four clinical studies designed to show the efficacy and cost effectiveness of the device. For example, one of the studies will involve a hospital using the cooling system in its intensive care unit. “The whole purpose of these is for market adoption,” Burke said.

The company made a key hire this month when it brought on Timothy Seekely, formerly of Trek Diagnostic Systems, as its sales chief.

Life Core’s cooling device was invented by , Dr. Aqeel Sandhu, the company’s chairman and medical director of cardiothoracic surgery at Canton’s Mercy Medical Center.

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