Grant to aid development of innovative device for treatment of heart failure
UofL surgery professor Steven Koenig, Ph.D., inspects the new device.
Scientists at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, working with a private biosciences company, have received a federal grant to develop a new device designed to treat congestive heart failure.
The Small Business Innovation Research grant of nearly $173,000 will allow researchers to test a pacemaker-like device designed to help the heart recover by boosting blood flow to it and reducing its workload.
"This is one of the first devices designed specifically to help the heart recover from congestive heart failure without the need for a heart transplant," said Steven Koenig, Ph.D., a UofL surgery professor and principal investigator for the project.
Koenig; surgery professors Kenneth Litwak, D.V.M., George Pantalos, Ph.D., and Robert Dowling, M.D.; and cardiologist James Kang, M.D., are partnering in the study with Paul Spence, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon and founder of Louisville biosciences company SCR Inc. The grant will allow the team to test the safety and effectiveness of the device before it is used in people. Clinical trials are expected to begin in two years.
"This is a great collaboration with an experienced team of experts," Spence said.
The institute's accreditation as a good laboratory practices facility makes it "the perfect place to bring this device to patients quickly," he added.
Research organizations holding the distinction follow a detailed protocol that makes it easier for other scientists to duplicate their work.
The Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, a partnership between UofL and Jewish Hospital/St. Mary's HealthCare, focuses on the evaluation, development and improvement of bio-adaptive heart innovations, including heart-assist devices, biofeedback sensors and related technologies.
The 85,000-square-foot institute building is scheduled to open in early 2007 on the UofL Health Sciences Center campus in the Louisville Medical Center. It will include an expanded research facility and training and administrative space equipped with the latest technology.
