Two Upstate companies are working together to create a medical product with the potential to become the standard of care for dialysis grafts. CreatiVasc Medical started full-time operations in 2007 to create intuitive medical devices that bring novel solutions to the growing population that suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The company’s latest innovation, the Hemoaccess Valve System, allows blood flow in a dialysis graft to be selectively turned on and off. The technology is designed to improve the lives of patients and reduce the need for certain repetitive surgeries, potentially saving billions of dollars in Medicare costs.
CreatiVasc has partnered with Liberty-based Sealevel Systems, Inc. to design and manufacture the electronics required to operate and monitor the system. The partnership showcases the growing medical and technological capabilities in the Upstate area according to Steve Johnson, president and CEO of CreatiVasc. “We started out working with companies in Ohio and Massachusetts, but found better capabilities with Sealevel right here local to Greenville,” says Johnson. “They have the expert knowledge and state of the art equipment and facilities to both design and produce the electronic components for the Hemoaccess Valve System, plus their level of commitment of innovative thinking is unmatched. It is also a further indication of the growth of the life science ‘ecosystem’ thriving here in the Upstate.”
Sealevel Systems, founded in 1986, designs and manufactures industrial computing solutions in addition to a variety of communications and I/O products used in medical, process control, military, and other mission critical applications. “We’re very excited to work with CreatiVasc on a product with the potential to do so much good,” says Tom O’Hanlan, founder and CEO of Sealevel. “Out of all the vertical markets we work in, none is more gratifying than the medical industry.”
The Hemoaccess Valve System was originally developed by Greenville vascular surgeon David Cull, CreatiVasc founder. The system is one of three nationwide selected for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Innovation Pathway, designed to accelerate the process of approval without compromising patient safety.
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