Cardiovascular & IGT

AIDO enhances precision control during endoscopic procedures with its drive unit. Physicians can now maintain control of the endoscope shaft while operating tools, saving time and improving efficiency. This platform technology streamlines the control of instruments inserted through the endoscope's working channel, offering automatic insertion and precise control, ultimately improving patient safety and procedural outcomes.

Angiogenesis Analytics, offers an ultrasound-based solution for detecting, localizing, and characterizing prostate cancer. Each year, over 1.5 million men undergo invasive biopsies with risks of infection, false negatives, and overtreatment. Angiogenesis Analytics eliminates these issues by providing a non-invasive, accurate, and cost-effective alternative, improving patient comfort and outcomes. With an estimated market value of USD 450 million annually, Angiogenesis Analytics addresses a significant global need for better prostate cancer diagnostics.

ArtiFex tackles a solution for coronary and peripheral bypass surgeries. Traditional grafts from the great saphenous vein face issues like rapid degeneration, leading to complications. With millions of bypass surgeries conducted annually and a billion-dollar market for vascular grafts, there's a clear need for improvement. ArtiFex's innovative vascular graft, made of cobalt-chrome and cellulose promotes tissue regeneration, strength, and ensures blood flow without causing clotting or immune reactions.

Haermonics addresses the challenge of complications after open heart surgery with a transformative solution. Excessive blood loss and clots post-surgery lead to numerous issues, including reoperations and cardiac tamponades, resulting in significant healthcare costs and loss of lives. The Haermonics Flush device offers a preventive approach by flushing the pericardial cavity after surgery, limiting blood loss and clot formation. By providing medical professionals with better patient status monitoring, Haermonics Flush empowers doctors to make more informed decisions, ultimately saving thousands of lives and billions in hospital costs.

HapticHeart Solutions is revolutionizing cardiac procedures by giving cardiologists a "sense of touch" during catheter-based surgeries. These surgeries, which are becoming more complex, often require delicate maneuvers inside the heart. Their wearable device translates signals from the cath lab into tactile feedback, allowing cardiologists to feel what's happening inside the patient's heart. This helps them navigate catheters more effectively and focus on critical aspects of the procedure, leading to safer and more efficient surgeries with better outcomes for patients.

Kaminari Medical is innovating coronary artery disease treatment with a catheter, combining intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and photoacoustic imaging (PA). This IVPA technology provides precise information on plaque location and structure, enabling doctors to identify and treat dangerous plaques preemptively. By enhancing the accuracy of stent placements and guiding medication therapy, IVPA is expected to prevent 50% of re-catheterizations, reducing repeated procedures and saving over €1 billion annually.

Nicolab tackles the challenge of stroke diagnosis and treatment by offering computational support through their portfolio of six algorithms. These algorithms analyze radiological images of acute stroke patients, providing fast and objective interpretation for physicians. With stroke affecting millions annually and significant economic burdens, Nicolab's solution improves decision-making speed and accuracy, allowing clinicians to assess stroke severity objectively and make timely treatment decisions.

Nilocas offers a revolutionary solution for detecting coronary artery disease non-invasively and without radiation. Patients wear a lightweight chest patch that captures the sounds of turbulent blood flow through arteries using microphones and accelerometers. Advanced machine learning and AI rapidly analyze the data, providing a clear diagnosis in just 10 minutes. This innovation eliminates the need for costly and invasive procedures, making cardiac diagnosis more accessible in both clinical and non-clinical settings.

OCCLUNOVA introduces a novel solution for chronic atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition affecting millions worldwide where the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly. Their implantable device aims to prevent strokes associated with AF by sealing off the left atrial appendage (LAA), where blood clots often form. Unlike traditional methods, which can cause complications due to their rigid frame, OccluNova's design uses a flexible balloon to fully seal the LAA. This innovative approach minimizes risks like pericardial effusions and incomplete closure, offering a safer option for AF patients.

ProVascTec offers a novel solution for chronic arterial disease, focusing on peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and chronic limb ischemia. Unlike traditional treatments like angioplasty or bypass surgery, ProVascTec aims to stimulate vascular tissue growth using mesenchymal stem cells, reducing complications and improving blood flow. This innovative approach has the potential to benefit millions of patients suffering from PAD worldwide.

Scinvivo introduces a solution for bladder cancer diagnosis with its imaging catheter, providing real-time, cross-sectional tissue images. Traditional methods often lead to unnecessary surgeries and missed tumors. By utilizing Optical Coherence Tomography technology, Scinvivo's catheter offers high-resolution imaging, enabling urologists to accurately diagnose bladder conditions. This approach reduces unnecessary surgeries but also enhances diagnostic accuracy, improving patient outcomes.

Sigilla Medical is developing an innovative, implant-free radiofrequency device designed to close PFOs (patent foramen ovale) in stroke-risk patients. PFOs are associated with cryptogenic stroke and migraine, and current treatment involves placing a large metal device that spans the septum of the heart in an otherwise young and healthy patient. Sigilla’s device offers a safer, more efficient alternative by using controlled radiofrequency to seal the PFO without the need for implants. This less-invasive approach reduces procedural risk and adverse cardiac events while leaving options open for future minimally invasive procedures.

StarTric, created by cardiovascular experts, developed a new, less invasive device to fix a serious heart valve problem, Tricuspid Regurgitation (TR). Addressing Tricuspid Regurgitation (TR), a severe condition with high mortality rates, StarTric's device offers a safer alternative to open-heart surgery. The technology can be implanted via a transfemoral catheter, combining the safety of minimally invasive methods with the proven efficacy of the Clover technique, aiming to provide effective treatment to millions of TR patients worldwide who currently lack suitable options.

UltraTIL enables real-time tool-in-lesion confirmation during endobronchial lung cancer biopsies. This compact, side-viewing ultrasound probe is designed for the peripheral airways. UltraTil can be inserted through the working channel of a bronchoscope or robotic platform. By visualising lesions perpendicular to the airway and displaying the needle or biopsy instrument entering the target, UltraTIL improves the identification and sampling of small, eccentric and hard-to-reach lesions. The result: higher diagnostic accuracy, less reliance on additional positioning instruments, and shorter, more efficient procedures.

The Venous Stent is a new type of stent designed to help with conditions like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). Unlike older stents, this one can adjust in length and has multiple parts, making it more flexible and better for the veins. It helps improve blood flow and healing in the veins, potentially reducing the need for long-term medication.