Open heart surgery is a procedure that saves lives, but it isn’t an option for all heart patients.
Those who have liver and kidney problems or other pre-existing medical issues may be denied open-heart surgery because of the risks involved.
For those patients and others seeking an alternative to open heart surgery, an Israeli startup is creating a safe, non-invasive alternative.
Innovalve, developed at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center by Prof. Ehud Ra’anani and Dr. Boris Orlov, focuses on alternative ways to replace the mitral valve through a minimally invasive procedure.
The procedure uses a catheter to repair and replace mitral valves that have ceased functioning properly.
The technology was developed in 2018 and has been implemented in US hospitals since 2021’s FDA clinical trials.
Prof. Ra’anani spoke to Ynet about the development of this revolutionary approach to repairing heart valves.
“Many patients suffer from mitral valve leakage and can’t undergo open-heart surgery. As a result, they enter heart failure, which severely impacts their quality of life and life expectancy, and many die,” he said
“We’re talking about millions of such individuals in the Western world, in the U.S., and Europe, who lack a viable solution for this valve,” he continued.
Edwards Life Sciences is in the process of buying Innovalve for $300 million.
