• Popular
    • Medicine
    • Radiology
    • Cardiology
    • Surgery
    • Nanomedicine
    • Military Medicine
    • Rehab
  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS
  • Submit PR
  • Log in
Medgadget
Medgadget
  • Popular
    • Medicine
      Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS

      Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS

      Implantable Bioreactor for Kidney Cells

      Implantable Bioreactor for Kidney Cells

      Etched Nanopillars Kill Bacteria, Fungi on Titanium Implants

      Etched Nanopillars Kill Bacteria, Fungi on Titanium Implants

      Cells Release Insulin in Response to Music

      Cells Release Insulin in Response to Music

    • Radiology
      Ultrasound-Equipped Bra Monitors for Breast Cancer

      Ultrasound-Equipped Bra Monitors for Breast Cancer

      Portable and Radiation-Free Imaging with Magnetic Nanoparticles

      Portable and Radiation-Free Imaging with Magnetic Nanoparticles

      Imaging Technique Reveals Living Brain Tissue in its Complexity

      Imaging Technique Reveals Living Brain Tissue in its Complexity

      Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring

      Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring

    • Cardiology
      Ultrasound-Equipped Bra Monitors for Breast Cancer

      Ultrasound-Equipped Bra Monitors for Breast Cancer

      3D Printed Heart Muscle Beats

      3D Printed Heart Muscle Beats

      Wireless Patch Monitors, Paces Heart and then Biodegrades

      Wireless Patch Monitors, Paces Heart and then Biodegrades

      Photonic Radar Monitors Breathing from a Distance

      Photonic Radar Monitors Breathing from a Distance

    • Surgery
      Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS

      Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS

      Droplet Battery Harnesses Ionic Gradients for Bioelectronic Implants

      Droplet Battery Harnesses Ionic Gradients for Bioelectronic Implants

      Implantable Bioreactor for Kidney Cells

      Implantable Bioreactor for Kidney Cells

      Growth Factor-Loaded Microparticles Enhance 3D Bioprinted Muscle

      Growth Factor-Loaded Microparticles Enhance 3D Bioprinted Muscle

    • Nanomedicine
      Nanorobots Release Reactive Oxygen Species to Kill Fungal Biofilms

      Nanorobots Release Reactive Oxygen Species to Kill Fungal Biofilms

      Bottlebrush Nanoparticles Deliver Immunostimulatory Drugs

      Bottlebrush Nanoparticles Deliver Immunostimulatory Drugs

      Nanoparticles Deliver mRNA Therapy to the Lungs

      Nanoparticles Deliver mRNA Therapy to the Lungs

      Nanoparticles Get Lymphatic Vessels Pumping

      Nanoparticles Get Lymphatic Vessels Pumping

    • Military Medicine
      Wearable Can Take Multiple Sweat Samples

      Wearable Can Take Multiple Sweat Samples

      Wound Dressing Detects Infection, Changes Color

      Wound Dressing Detects Infection, Changes Color

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

    • Rehab
      Optical Strain Sensors for Rehab

      Optical Strain Sensors for Rehab

      Growth Factor-Loaded Microparticles Enhance 3D Bioprinted Muscle

      Growth Factor-Loaded Microparticles Enhance 3D Bioprinted Muscle

      Brain Computer Interface Decodes Speech and Facial Expressions

      Brain Computer Interface Decodes Speech and Facial Expressions

      Semi-Automated Manufacture of E-Skin Sensors

      Semi-Automated Manufacture of E-Skin Sensors

  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Log in
  • Submit PR
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Contraline, a New Approach to Male Contraception: Interview

June 21st, 2016 Medgadget Editors Exclusive, Reproductive Medicine, Urology

Contraline-block

Kevin-EisenfratsContraline, a company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, is working on introducing a new method for male contraception that may overcome many of the limitations of existing approaches, particularly vasectomy. Contraline’s procedure is called Vasintomy and like vasectomy it works by preventing sperm from moving down the vas deferens. Unlike vasectomy, though, it’s a non-surgical procedure that doesn’t permanently reconstruct male anatomy and should be reversible. We spoke with Kevin Eisenfrats, co-founder and CEO of Contraline, to get a better idea of the technology and what we can expect from the company in the future.

Medgadget: Let’s start with how Vasintomy from Contraline works. It’s described as “non-surgical” in your literature, and we’re curious about the details from a clinician’s point of view.

contraline-deliveryKevin Eisenfrats, Contraline: The Vasintomy can be described medically as an ultrasound-guided, percutaneous injection. Just like in vasectomy, the urologist first identifies the vas deferens, administers local anesthesia, and secures the vas to the skin. Here’s where Vasintomy is vastly different. Instead of making an incision and pulling the vas out, he/she uses a standard ultrasound probe to visualize the lumen (the hole in the center) of the vas deferens. Once visualized, they inject Echo-V (or the polymer solution) into the lumen through the skin. No incisions, sutures, or scalpels are required. Echo-V appears on the ultrasound confirming the injection was done properly. The whole procedure is predicted to take 3-4 minutes.

Medgadget: Can you tell us what side effects you hope to overcome over existing techniques?

Kevin Eisenfrats: Firstly, the gel is non-hormonal so there will be no systemic side-effects like weight gain and acne that come with female steroidal options. In the past, there have been gels or devices implanted into the vas deferens. Some of them cause scarring of the vas tissue. Granulomas can form if the urologist misses and injects into the smooth muscle layer, and foreign body responses can occur if the gel is not biocompatible. Vasintomy allows the urologist to see the lumen so it reduces (potentially eliminates) the chance for granulomas and our gel is biocompatible.
Contraline-reversal
Medgadget: What about reversing the procedure, how is that performed and do you expect healthy recovery for the vas deferens?

Kevin Eisenfrats: We cannot reveal too much about our reversal procedure yet, but what we can say is that the procedure is identical to Vasintomy in that it is non-surgical…except instead of a gel being injected, we inject a solution that dissolves the gel. The solution contains an agent which will selectively and effectively de-precipitate the gel. As long as the gel does not damage the basal membrane of the epithelial wall, there should be healthy recovery of the vas. We’re testing this in our rat study now :)

Medgadget: What is your background to have ended up working on such a project and how long has your team been developing this technology?

Kevin Eisenfrats: My personal background.. I studied nanomedicine engineering at the University of Virginia. I have been interested in the field of reproductive and contraceptive health since high school. I even wrote my admissions essay for UVA on why there is no male birth control pill yet. I worked in Dr. John Herr’s lab doing research on uterine cancer for three years and at the National Institutes of Health doing research on in vitro fertilization. The Contraline team has been “going at it” for a little over a year now.

Medgadget: Is there a clinical background that led to this technology, or perhaps it was the result of a lightbulb moment for someone?

Kevin Eisenfrats: The only knowledge we had was that gels and devices had been implanted into rabbits, monkeys, and humans before (i.e. RISUG in India) and they work really well! However, there are a lot of problems with them that have limited commercialization. When I was reading these papers, I had a light-bulb moment: “why have none of these procedures been non-surgical?” That would make the whole procedure much more appealing. One of the biggest concerns for vasectomy patients is the invasiveness of the procedure. That’s why I invented Vasintomy.

Medgadget: What challenges do you expect to encounter bringing Vasintomy to market, and where in the world do you expect it’ll be initially adopted?

Kevin Eisenfrats: The biggest challenge will be the FDA. Echo-V is a high-risk device because it’s implanted in the body and lasts for years. We have to show animal data, biocompatibility data, and do human clinical trials to get approval. But that’s why we have a great team which has been through the FDA before and we’re producing all of the required data. We’re very set on going after the United States as our first market. It has the biggest target market size and sets the precedent for regulatory approval in other countries. We have some other countries around the world we are looking at.. but can’t reveal them just yet.

Medgadget: Are you or do you expect to develop other medical products and what are the long term goals for the company?

Kevin Eisenfrats: My vision is for Contraline to become a global leader in the male reproductive health space. To start, we’re developing a suite of products that accompany Vasintomy. This includes new injection devices, needles, ultrasound technology with needle-guiding algorithms, etc. We’re also interested in novel male contraceptives apart from Vasintomy/Echo-V.

divider

Link: Contraline…

Medgadget Editors

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

Sponsored
Clarius L20 HD3 Receives Highest Image Quality Ranking Among Five Point-of-Care Ultrasound Devices

Clarius L20 HD3 Receives Highest Image Quality Ranking Among Five Point-of-Care Ultrasound Devices

Viral Vector Manufacturing in Gene Therapy and Vaccine Development

Health and Clean Air: Why Indoor Ventilation Matters

Health and Clean Air: Why Indoor Ventilation Matters

New Survey Finds Strong Consumer Preference for More Natural Hernia Repair Options

MedTech Outlook 2023 for Latin America Released

MedTech Outlook 2023 for Latin America Released

interviews & reviews
Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS

Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS

UV-Free Air Decontamination: Interview with Sorel Rothschild, VP at Quantum Innovations

UV-Free Air Decontamination: Interview with Sorel Rothschild, VP at Quantum Innovations

EarliPoint Evaluation System for ASD Diagnosis: Interview with Tom Ressemann, CEO of EarliTec Dx

EarliPoint Evaluation System for ASD Diagnosis: Interview with Tom Ressemann, CEO of EarliTec Dx

Visually Guided Uterine Biopsies in Physician’s Office: Interview with Allison London Brown, CEO of LUMINELLE

Visually Guided Uterine Biopsies in Physician’s Office: Interview with Allison London Brown, CEO of LUMINELLE

AI-Powered Pain Relief: Interview with Claire Smith, VP at Nevro

AI-Powered Pain Relief: Interview with Claire Smith, VP at Nevro

MISHA Knee Shock Absorber: Interview with Anton Clifford, CEO of Moximed

MISHA Knee Shock Absorber: Interview with Anton Clifford, CEO of Moximed

Shelf-Stable Breast Milk Powder: Interview with Dr. Vansh Langer, CEO at BBy

Shelf-Stable Breast Milk Powder: Interview with Dr. Vansh Langer, CEO at BBy

  • Subscribe
  • Contact us
  • Submit
  • About
  • Back to top
Medgadget

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

  • About
  • Editorial policies
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Submit press release
  • Advertise
© Medgadget, Inc. All rights reserved. | The Medical Revolution Will Be Blogged.
Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Thank you!
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email