EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., — NeoChord Inc., a medical device company focused on minimally invasive mitral valve repair, announced today that its mitral valve repair system will be featured in the scientific program at the upcoming 26th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). NeoChord also will be exhibiting in Booth #67.

"NeoChord’s technology allows the implantation of artificial chordae tendinae, a proven technique for the repair of mitral valve prolapse via a transapical, off-pump procedure," said Dr. Giovanni Speziali, the primary inventor of NeoChord’s technology. "Successful conclusion of the TACT trial is a meaningful step forward in the treatment of patients with severe mitral regurgitation because it helps us better understand those patients who can avoid sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass and still undergo a quality repair."

"The TACT trial shows that off-pump transapical implantation of neo-chordae to correct MR due to PML prolapse is feasible and promising as a new, less-invasive technology for MR repair," added Dr. Joerg Seeburger.

The NeoChord procedure was developed to treat mitral prolapse caused by ruptured or elongated chordae tendinae — the primary cause of degenerative mitral regurgitation –— via minimally invasive implantation of artificial chordae tendinae. The technology was developed by Dr. Speziali along with Richard Daly, M.D., a cardiac surgeon from Mayo Clinic, and Charles Bruce, M.D., cardiologist, also of Mayo Clinic. The technology is licensed exclusively to NeoChord Inc.

Dr. Giovanni Speziali is an Attending Cardiac Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He previously was a Staff Associate Surgeon in the Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantation Department in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He is a member of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, a member of the Mayo Alumni Association, and a member of the ANMCO (Italian Society of Hospital-Based Heart Physicians). As an attending physician and consultant, Dr. Speziali has performed over 800 unsupervised open-heart procedures (adult cardiac).

Dr. Joerg Seeburger is an Attending Cardiac Surgeon at the Heart Center Leipzig (Germany), and a board member of the Innovation Center for Computer-Assisted Surgery (ICCAS). He is a member of the European Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery, and a pending member of the German Society for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery. Dr. Seeburger has published nearly two-dozen research articles for peer-reviewed medical journals. In addition, he is a Reviewer for Circulation, European Heart Journal, and European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.

Source: NeoChord, Inc.