CellAegis has received CE Mark for its autoRIC device, a portable automated solution for remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) at the point of care. Remote ischemic conditioning is a relatively novel concept of protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury that happens in cases such as myocardial infarction. CellAegis’ autoRIC Device has been developed for acute care applications in the ambulance, emergency room and other hospital settings, or for chronic treatment in the home, and can be used alongside current standards of care.
It has long been known that temporarily occluding a coronary artery will allow the affected heart muscle to later survive longer periods of interrupted blood supply. However, more recently it has been shown that doing the same in distal muscle tissue may have the same effect, a phenomenon called remote ischemic conditioning. Remote ischemic conditioning uses sequences of short, controlled periods of reduced or no blood flow (ischemia) in a limb followed by resumed blood flow (reperfusion). This phenomenon can be employed either before, during or after prolonged distant organ ischemia.
How exactly RIC protects against reperfusion injury is yet unknown, but it is thought to activate certain innate mechanisms of metabolic protection in the body. RIC has been shown to be applicable in many conditions involving organ ischemia including myocardial infarctions, cardiac surgery, stroke, trauma and organ transplantation. CellAegis cites studies showing that RIC can reduce heart damage by up to 40-50% in an evolving heart attack, improve left ventricular ejection fraction in left anterior descending coronary artery infarction, is associated with reduced subsequent cardiovascular events late after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and reduces incidences of contrast-induced nephropathy.
Limb ischemia can be induced by simply inflating a standard blood pressure cuff and the autoRIC essentially provides an automated version of this procedure, making it simple, consistent and time-efficient to administer. An international randomized controlled trial of the autoRIC device in patients undergoing elective PCI and cardiac surgery, including coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery will commence in the second half of this year. Over 1000 patients will be enrolled across centers in the E.U. and U.S.
Press release: CellAegis Devices Receives CE Mark for autoRIC Device in the European Union…
Product page: The autoRIC device…
