SBIR Phase I: An extravascular bipolar catheter for targeted nerve ablation with minimal collateral damage to surrounding tissues

Caridian Medical, Inc., Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel and emerging method for treating a subset of heart failure patients. Despite modern medical regimen and device therapies, heart failure affects 6 million Americans and remains a leading cause of death and hospitalization in the United States. The proposed system and approach aim to provide a novel procedure and treatment paradigm by leveraging an established clinical access procedure for performing Greater Splanchnic Ablation (GSN). The system would enable rapid and wider clinical adoption of the emerging therapy. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel, minimally invasive, catheter-delivered, venous procedure for performing extravascular Greater Splanchnic Ablation (GSN). The proposed catheter system utilizes a clinically accepted venous approach in order to perform extravascular denervation, while minimizing collateral (off-target) damage to the other surrounding tissues. The objectives of this project include designing and prototyping new devices that will enable localized energy delivery and incorporate a detection system indicative of procedural success. Both benchtop testing and pre-clinical animal model studies will be used to access and ablate, verifying the function and performance of the device. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.