The first winner from Frost & Sullivan’s awards we would like to mention is Cierra, Inc., from Redwood City, CA. This company has been named the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2006 Excellence in Research of the Year Award in the field of interventional cardiology “for its outstanding research and development efforts that led to the introduction of the PFX™ Closure System.”
The PFX™ Closure System is an angiographically delivered catheter that closes the patent foramen ovale (PFO)–a small opening between right and left atria of the heart, the most common congenital heart defect–without leaving behind an implant. The system achieves the closure by applying radio-frequency energy to a floppy valve of PFO. Wired News has recently profiled this company in an informative article.
Info about the PFO (the floppy valve and more)…
The press release…
PFX™ Closure System
March 17th, 2006 
Medgadget Editors Cardiology