HOUSTON, TX (February 16, 2015) - Medical device firm Procyrion, Inc., developing the first catheter-deployed circulatory assist device for the ambulatory treatment of heart failure, announced today that interventional cardiologist Dr. Manesh Patel of Duke University Medical Center has joined the company’s scientific advisory board. Dr. Patel serves as Director of Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Catheterization Labs across the Duke University Health System and has clinical interests in diagnostic and interventional coronary angiography, cardiac devices, peripheral angiography, and endovascular intervention.
“Dr. Patel’s expertise in the cath-lab and his focus on patient-centered efforts to improve cardiac catheterization procedures align nicely with what we’re working to achieve with Aortix™,” said Benjamin A. Hertzog, PhD, Procyrion’s president and CEO. “His knowledge, guidance, and capability will be great benefits as we approach our first-in-human clinical studies later this year.”
Aortix, an intra-aortic continuous flow pump, is expected to provide a minimally invasive treatment option for millions of chronic heart failure patients who are too sick for medication alone. At less than 6mm in diameter, Aortix is narrower than a no. 2 pencil and is delivered via a catheter in a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that takes about ten minutes to complete.
“The cardiology community is desperate for novel technologies to treat chronic heart failure. Procyrion’s innovative Aortix™ device has the potential to provide a significant clinical benefit to a large population of NYHA Class III-IVa patients that have few treatment options. It is a pleasure to be working with such an innovative company and team,” said Patel.
Dr. Patel is involved in several clinical trials involving cardiovascular disease and cardiac imaging. He also chairs committees of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and has received a number of awards for his integrative approach to innovative patient-centered care.
Dr. Patel joins other distinguished scientific board members:
- Dr. Keith Aaronson is a professor in the department of Internal Medicine and medical director of the Heart Failure Program at the University of Michigan.
- Dr. Emma Birks is the medical director of the Jewish Hospital’s Heart Failure, Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and professor of Cardiovascular Medicine with the University of Louisville.
- Dr. Joseph Rogers is the medical director of the Cardiac Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and Senior Vice Chief for Clinical Affairs, Division of Cardiology at Duke University.
- Dr. Hani N. Sabbah is a tenured professor of medicine at Wayne State University in Detroit and the Director of Cardiovascular Research at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.
ABOUT PROCYRION
Houston-based medical device firm Procyrion, Inc. is developing the first catheter-deployed, intra-aortic pump for ambulatory use. The device is designed to rest and heal the heart by reducing afterload while simultaneously improving blood flow to vital organs. This groundbreaking cardiology tool, conceived by cardiologist Dr. Reynolds M. Delgado, III, medical director of Mechanical Support Devices in Heart Failure at the Texas Heart Institute, is expected to provide a minimally invasive treatment option for millions of chronic heart failure patients.
For more information, visit www.procyrion.com or call 713.579.9227.