Devices & Diagnostics, Startups

NeoChord gets $12.6M for mitral valve repair tool that works without stopping the heart

Mitral valve regurgitation is generally fixed with an invasive surgery that requires that the heart is stopped. NeoChord is developing an easier way to do it.

Traditionally, the way to fix leaky mitral valves is to open the chest, and stop the heart from beating – a wildly invasive procedure, to be sure.

Minnesota device maker NeoChord just raised a nice chunk of equity for a surgical device that can be used to repair mitral valve regurgitation – while the heart is still beating.

It just raised $12.6 million in debt, with aims to raise $20 million, according to a regulatory filing.

 

It requires a two- to three-inch incision between the ribs (many repair procedures require the sternum to be cut and the rib cage spread open) and, with ECG guidance, the device can capture and suture the mitral valve leaflets. Read more here.

NeoChord’s device, called the DS1000, has a CE Mark and is now being used to treat patients in 18 hospitals in 8 countries – though it hasn’t been approved in teh US. The device was developed by a team of cardiac surgeons at Mayo Clinic.

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