TRI’s ND Infusion Catheter Used to Deliver Stem Cells Into Heart

The Translational Research Institute (TRI Medical), said its ND Infusion Catheter has been used on a human patient for the first time to deliver stem cells into the heart.

“We are at the forefront of revolutionizing stem cell delivery to the heart,” TRI Medical’s Nabil Dib, M.D., Msc, said. “The ND Infusion Catheter provides safety and potential efficacy. The catheter also reduces the procedure time to approximately 15 minutes; enabling patients to walk and resume activities in about 2 hours.”

The procedure was performed at the German Cardiology Center at the University of Frankfurt and took about fifteen minutes to complete.The ND Infusion Catheter features a balloon that can work with a wide variety of vessel sizes, forcing the flow of blood to stop while stem cells are delivered. The cells are distributed into multiple tubes within the catheter that spray them out evenly throughout the lumen, all while avoiding physical stresses that can destroy stem cells.

“The catheter provides the potential to precisely regulate coronary blood flow, while administering cells directly into the heart thus improving safety and potentially efficacy. The design of the catheter’s balloon accommodates different vessel sizes, avoiding the need to use multiple catheters, reducing potential risks associated with exchanging the balloon catheter when treating different coronary arteries in an individual patient,” noted Prof. Dr. Andreas M. Zeiher, chairman of the Department of Cardiology at the University of Frankfurt.

“Prior to the first-in-man procedure, extensive cell compatibility testing of bone marrow derived cells with the ND Infusion Catheter revealed that the catheter preserved cell viability and functionality,” Stefanie Dimmeler, Ph.D., and director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Regeneration, Centre of Molecular Medicine said. “The testing proved the cells are compatible with the ND Infusion Catheter. We see this as potential improvements in safety and clinical outcomes related to cell function and efficacy in patients.”

Earlier studies revealed the ND Infusion Catheter reduces cellular clumping, preserves cell viability, improves dispersion and reduces radial forces on the vessel walls during balloon inflation; which collectively might improve patient safety and clinical outcomes.

“The catheter’s design features provide physicians with a new tool in the delivery of specified fluids such as stem cells. We expect to see significant growth in the stem cell research marketplace for the new ND Infusion Catheter,” said Ron Anson, vice president of Business Development at TRI Medical.

TRI Medical is a privately held, medical device development company based in Gilbert, Ariz.