Press Releases

Cardiovascular Signal Processing Technology Exclusively Licensed from Michigan State University -Enables Monitoring of More Than 18 Million High-Risk Patients Worldwide -Shows Superior Accuracy When Patients Are Unstable

EAST LANSING, Mich., Aug. 16, 2012  — Retia Medical, a medical device company pioneering the field of cardiovascular signal processing for patient monitoring, announced it had raised $7 Million in Series A funding. The Pritzker/Vlock family office led the investment in Retia, which was co-founded by Rama Mukkamala, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU), and Marc Zemel, Chief Executive Officer, experienced entrepreneur and formerly of Becton Dickinson.

Retia has created a new, less-invasive system to monitor cardiac output (CO) and other key measures of the cardiovascular system accurately when patients go into shock. This system is based on a core platform technology that was developed at MSU.

“The literature is rife with case studies showing how current less-invasive technologies fail during hemodynamic instability,” said Mukkamala, an internationally recognized expert in the field of cardiovascular signal processing. “We performed competitive testing during similar conditions and showed dramatic improvements in accuracy with Retia’s monitor that can lead to better clinical decision making.”

Currently, at least 15 million surgical patients and 3 million intensive care patients worldwide could benefit from accurate, less-invasive CO monitoring.

“Our vision is to enable physicians to achieve better patient outcomes via improved monitoring,” said Zemel. “Retia’s CO monitor can help clinicians detect when patients go into shock, make faster diagnoses, and optimize fluid and vasoactive drug administration. With this technology platform, we have the potential to develop advanced monitoring of heart failure and hypertension patients in the hospital or at home,” continued Zemel.

Using the proceeds from this Pritzker/Vlock family office financing, Retia will complete product development, submit regulatory filings and launch its minimally invasive, cardiac output monitor.

About Cardiac Output Monitoring

In high-risk patients, clinicians monitor circulatory status via cardiac output or total blood flow. They track CO as an indicator of oxygen delivery to vital organs because without oxygen, these organs can die within minutes. The “gold standard” method for monitoring CO has historically been the invasive pulmonary artery (PA) catheter. Less invasive technologies exist but are not accurate when patients go unstable. That is when having an accurate monitor is most critical. More than 32 independently conducted studies have shown that optimized hemodynamic management with accurate CO monitoring can lead to significantly improved outcomes including reduced mortality and morbidity, and shorter length of hospital stay. In a recent survey of over 400 American and European Anesthesiologists, 90% agreed that cardiac output is a major determinant of oxygen delivery and that oxygen delivery is of major importance for high-risk patients, yet at least 50% indicated that they do not use current cardiac output monitoring systems because they are too invasive or unreliable.[1]

About Retia Medical

Retia Medical develops monitors for high-risk patients. Retia’s first product monitors cardiac output, a critical health metric that indicates the flow rate of blood pumped by the heart. The initial target market for this technology is the ICU and operating rooms. It is potentially extendable for use in emergency rooms or at home. Based in East Lansing, MI, Retia’s technology was exclusively licensed from MSU and validated through extensive tests in animals and humans. With the support of the Pritzker/Vlock family office and a strong advisory board composed of industry and clinical experts, Retia will seek FDA approval and launch this product, which will help revolutionize the care of our most at-risk patients. For more information, visit www.retiamedical.com.

About the Pritzker/Vlock Family Office

Karen Pritzker and Michael Vlock run the Pritzker/Vlock family office. The enterprise owns and manages a broad portfolio of public equities, consumer, biotech, industrial and medical equipment and technology businesses, several venture funds, real estate, and has substantial private equity ownership of Global Hyatt Corporation, TransUnion LLC, Triton Container International Corporation and the Marmon Group. They are involved in numerous national philanthropic efforts individually and through their family foundation with emphasis on literacy, education, medicine, theatre, and land preservation.

About MSU

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

References

1. Cannesson M, et al. Hemodynamic monitoring and management in patients undergoing high risk surgery: a survey among North American and European anesthesiologists. Critical Care, 2011;15(4):R197.