ZOLL and Myant Enter Strategic Research and Development Collaboration

ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group company that manufactures medical devices and related software solutions, and Myant Inc., a manufacturing company pioneering the application of technology and soft electronics into textiles, have entered an exclusive strategic multi-year agreement to jointly develop technologies that will be leveraged in future generations of the ZOLL LifeVest wearable defibrillator. The LifeVest is worn by patients at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), providing protection during their changing condition and while permanent SCD risk has not been established.
 
“This collaboration with Myant aligns with ZOLL’s commitment to research and development with the goal of improving patient outcomes,” commented Jason T. Whiting, president of ZOLL LifeVest. “We are excited to combine efforts with Myant and leverage their strong R&D capabilities, advanced manufacturing, and broad research capabilities from its Centers for Excellence in Canada and the U.S.”
 
The LifeVest was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001. Since that time, the LifeVest has been worn by hundreds of thousands of patients globally and has saved thousands of patients’ lives. Recommended use of the wearable defibrillator is included in the 2017 American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Guideline for Management of Patients with Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death.

“We are very proud of this exclusive agreement between Myant and ZOLL because it represents a collaboration between two companies taking a multidisciplinary approach to advance technologies for future generations of wearable defibrillators,” said Tony Chahine, CEO and founder of Myant. “We are blending the benefits of advancements in materials science, state-of-the art machines, yarn with nanotechnology, and advanced manufacturing. It is an honor to work with ZOLL, a provider of FDA-approved, lifesaving medical devices.”
 
The LifeVest is used for a wide range of patient conditions or situations, including following a myocardial infarction, before or after coronary revascularization, and for those with cardiomyopathy or congestive heart failure that places them at particular risk. The LifeVest allows patients to return to their common activities of daily living, while having the peace of mind that they are protected from SCD. The LifeVest continuously monitors the patient’s heart and, if a life-threatening heart rhythm is detected, the device delivers a treatment shock to restore normal heart rhythm.
 
Myant’s approach to product innovation starts from molecule to garment, textile to comfort. The company focuses on advancing human connectedness to the Internet of Things. Myant is establishing an innovation hub for designing, developing, and producing connected textile-based products. It will lead the creation of Canadian and American university-affiliated textile technology Centers for Excellence to connect industry to innovation. These centers will provide state-of-the-art, end-to-end production facilities; offer access to machines, tools, and expertise; develop new curriculum and gold standards; and facilitate the making of ideas to promote true transformational change.
 
Founded in 2010, Myant employs an interdisciplinary team of over 80 people who are creating the world’s first computing textile platform that senses, records, analyses and responds, and ambiently interfaces with humans and artificial intelligence (AI) through textiles. SKIIN is Myant’s proprietary brand of smart apparel to be launched in 2018. Myant’s 80,000-square-foot facility in Toronto, Canada, is an end-to-end textile supply chain with a state-of-the-art 3D digital fabrication and robotic knitting division, a printed electronic lab, a traditional cut and sew operation, and significant proprietary technologies. In addition, Myant has strategic relationships with the world’s top knitting machine manufacturers and yarn makers, as well as other industry suppliers.
 
ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei Group Company, develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, therapeutic temperature management, and ventilation, ZOLL provides a set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and acute critical care.
 
The Asahi Kasei Group is a diversified group of companies led by holding company Asahi Kasei Corp., with operations in the material, homes, and health care business sectors. Its healthcare operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. With more than 30,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries.