Laser-Assisted Surgical System to Revolutionize Cardiac Bypass Surgeries

ended

Coronary Artery Bypass (CAB) surgery is performed annually in >700,000 patients to treat coronary artery disease and prevent myocardial infarction (heart attack). Standard CAB surgery involves a highly invasive open-heart procedure in arrested/non-beating heart, that is associated with long recovery times and severe complications. The surgeons are seeking for less invasive, closed chest CAB procedures on beating heart, but current solutions are technically extremely challenging and thereby only used in <1-3% of all surgeries. The vision of the SAFE-CAB consortium is to make the minimally invasive CAB surgeries available to all surgeons as a novel standard of care, thereby substantially improve patient outcomes and reduce health care costs. The goal of the project is to bring to market a first-of-its-kind laser-assisted minimally invasive surgical system (surgical kit containing surgical implant and laser catheter). SAFE-CAB enables minimally invasive procedure on beating heart, without the need for arresting blood flow or complex hand suturing. With shorter recovery times, less complications and improved survival rates in high-risk patients, the SAFE-CAB technology has a potential to replace high-risk open-heart surgeries. Replacing only 15% of open-heart surgeries in Europe and US translates to annual market opportunity of >€89M and >€192M. Dutch SME AMT Medical has developed the proprietary SAFE-CAB technology to clinical readiness. To substantially accelerate the market entry of the product, the company partners with a leading European cardiac surgery hospital Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin and a pan-European clinical/regulatory medical device company HEMEX to obtain regulatory approval through final clinical validation . To realize European wide-implementation, the consortium is complemented by a surgery training company LifeTec Group and the oldest professional organisation for cardiac surgeons European Society of CardioVascular and Endovascular Surgery.