A company with a suture-less closure device for heart surgery procedures intended to reduce blood loss and the amount of time the patient spends on the operating table has received follow-on investment from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania of $100,000.

The Permaseal device by Bethelehem-based Micro Interventional Devices is designed for surgical patients who are unable to undergo high-risk procedures, particularly for the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation procedure. The TAVI market is expected to grow to $2 billion by 2015, according to data from Wells Fargo.

In an interview with MedCity News earlier this year, CEO Michael Whitman said the company would start a series B financing round in September that would seek investments totaling $5 million to $8 million to get its device through CE mark approval, a target it is setting out to reach by the end of the fourth quarter.

In addition to Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, other investors have included Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania, Battelle Ventures and New Hope Ventures.

The device is applied to the myocardium before the procedure and provides hemostatic access to the left ventricle during minimally invasive cardiac procedures. It uses a suture-less technology to repair the access point of the procedure and closes using a combination of soft tissue anchors and biocompatible elastomers that produce a web structure around the myocardial access site.

Among the companies that develop TAVI devices are Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic and Boston Scientific.

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