Mitral and Tricuspid valve regurgitation are medical conditions in which the valves leak blood backward, which when left untreated can lead to heart failure. Mitral valve regurgitation affects around 2% of the general population and the current standard of care is open heart surgical repair of the valve. However, in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities, the risk for conventional surgery is elevated which means that only a fraction of these patients undergo open-heart surgery. A transcatheter approach can reduce the risks and trauma associated with conventional surgery and improve the quality of life for elderly patients.

Cryocinch is a novel anchoring catheter system that mimics surgical annuloplasty to reduce valve regurgitation. This catheter-based approach uses on-demand cryo-adhesion to compensate for the heart’s motion during the deployment of the circumferential anchors. The device is in the research and development phase and each iteration of the device is validated using experimental apparatus and animal trials. The catheter is introduced through the femoral vein and the tip is guided to the annulus of the mitral valve. The tip then adheres to the moving annulus through cryo-adhesion and longitudinal anchors are sutured along the perimeter of the annulus. Finally, the anchors are cinched together and locked to reduce the perimeter of the annulus and reduce regurgitation. The catheter system is composed of 5 primary components: a sheath catheter, a cooling catheter, a cinching catheter, a cooling console, and a catheter stand.

During my time as an R&D Engineer at MEACOR, my responsibilities included designing and developing the cinching catheter, the cooling console, and the catheter stand from scratch. Additionally, I was responsible for optimizing the cryogenic system to ensure the efficiency of the cooling handle under a heat load. Finally, I was responsible for developing a beating heart apparatus that enables the device to be tested in-house under realistic circumstances.

For more information about Cryocinch please visit MEACOR’s website: https://meacor.com/