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Venture Spotlight: Capital with a Heart: Inside American Heart Association Ventures with Lisa Suennen

  With February being American Heart Month, we’re spotlighting American Heart Association Ventures and its evolution into a disciplined, mission-driven investment platform. Led by veteran venture capitalist Lisa Suennen, the organization bridges the gap between scientific discovery and real-world care, deploying capital across medical devices, women’s health, social drivers of health, and company creation/co-creation to accelerate heart and brain health innovation at scale. February is American Heart Month, recognizing cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. It also celebrates the research and innovations that are creating meaningful, equitable, and sustainable positive change for cardiovascular as well as brain health patients, and the healthcare system. Despite decades of research, these leading causes of mortality and disability continue to exact an enormous toll across the entire population, and also uniquely among women, who rema...
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The Memo | Special Edition: Medtech Trailblazers Heading to LSI USA '26

Each week in The Memo , we spotlight one emerging medtech company pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in patient care. This week, we’re doing something different. With LSI USA ’26 just two weeks away, we’re featuring a special edition highlighting a select group of trailblazing companies across five major market segments, all of whom will take the stage in Dana Point. This is only a snapshot of the companies presenting at LSI USA ’26, but it offers a compelling preview of the innovation that will be on display. *Note: All information included in this article is sourced from the LSI USA ’26 Startup Profiles spreadsheet, Compass AI , and the LSI USA ’26 Presenting Companies page . Cardiovascular Fluid Biomed Presenter : John Wong Company Description : Fluid Biomed is developing the world’s first bioabsorbable stent to treat brain aneurysms. The company’s innovative polymer technology allows physicians the versatility of treating a wider variety of aneurysms more safely and efficien...
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The Memo: GelSana Advancing a New Class of Polymers for Chronic Wound Healing

Under the direction of Founder and CEO Melissa Krebs, PhD, GelSana is developing a novel class of synthetic polymers designed to address two of the most persistent barriers in chronic wound healing: inflammation and infection. Built on more than a decade of biomaterials research, the company’s technology is engineered to help calm inflammation, repel bacteria, and create an optimal environment for wound healing. With strong preclinical results, nearly $6 million raised to date, and its first product, CleraFlex™ Stretchable Wound Dressing, expected to launch imminently, GelSana is entering a large and rapidly evolving wound care market with a fundamentally new materials platform. Origin Story GelSana’s technology originated in the academic lab of Melissa Krebs, PhD, who has spent her career researching biomaterials and translational medical technologies. The polymers that now form the foundation of GelSana were developed and refined in her lab over more than a decade. “I’ve been doing b...
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The Pulsed-Field Ablation Race Heats Up

The company received a CE Mark label expansion for its FARAPULSE platform , allowing the pulsed-field ablation system to treat patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AFib). The approval covers the FARAWAVE and FARAWAVE NAV catheters and follows results from the ADVANTAGE AF clinical trial, where the technology met its primary safety and efficacy endpoints. The update arrives at an important moment for pulsed-field ablation . The PFA market only began to take shape in 2024, yet competition has intensified quickly. Expanding indications represent one of the most direct ways for companies to grow their share of this rapidly developing market. Before looking at how the competitive landscape is shifting, it helps to understand what the persistent AFib indication adds to the overall opportunity. Expansion of the Addressable AFib Population AFib affects an estimated 60 million people worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease study. Clinically, these patients are typically gr...
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Interventional Oncology Gains Momentum with Quantum Surgical Deal

  Medtech deal activity   continues to move quickly, and the latest transaction highlights growing momentum in interventional oncology. This week, Quantum Surgical acquired NeuWave Medical from Johnson & Johnson. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the strategic implications are clear. Quantum Surgical’s expertise in robotic assistance and navigation will now be combined with NeuWave’s Microwave Ablation System under a new organization called Precision IO Group. The company will be led by Kurt Azarbarzin, a medtech executive whose background includes leadership roles at Verb Surgical,  EndoQuest Robotics , and SurgiQuest. For Johnson & Johnson, the transaction reflects continued efforts to streamline its portfolio and concentrate on higher-growth segments. For  Quantum Surgical , the acquisition provides both a proven technology platform and direct access to a large installed base of leading cancer centers. To understand why the deal matters, it helps to ...
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The Memo: CygnusMed Building the First Endovascular Access System Allowing for Continuous Blood Pressure Monitoring

Under the direction of Founder and CEO Firas Al-Ali, MD, CygnusMed is developing an endovascular access system designed to create continuous sealing of the guiding catheter, eliminating blood reflux and stagnation into it, a first in endovascular intervention. This significantly reduces embolic risk and blood loss while enabling continuous arterial pressure monitoring during endovascular procedures. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, the company is advancing its EndoSphinx platform to address long-standing limitations in endovascular technologies, beginning in neuroendovascular care and with a long-term vision to expand across the full spectrum of endovascular procedures worldwide. Origin Story CygnusMed was born directly from clinical experience. Al-Ali, a neuro-interventionalist with more than 25 years of practice, repeatedly encountered “limitations in existing endovascular technologies that are often accepted as unavoidable but carry real consequences for patients.” One particular case ...
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The Memo: iCHOR Vascular Simply Taking a Proven Surgical Fogarty Sweep Into the Endovascular Labs

Under the leadership of Co-Founder and CEO Tim Blair, iCHOR Vascular is advancing a new approach to treating peripheral vascular occlusions by converting one of surgery’s most proven techniques into a simple, minimally invasive endovascular procedure. Founded to address shortcomings in clot removal, the company’s iSWEEP platform modernizes the classic Fogarty balloon sweep, delivering rapid vessel clearance without thrombolytic drugs, complex surgery, blood loss, vessel damage, or capital equipment. Origin Story iCHOR Vascular was founded by practicing Vascular Interventional Radiologist Dr. Troy Long and industry veteran Tim Blair, sparked by a clear realization. “The iCHOR aha moment came from our preclinical experiences with various thrombectomy technologies in their early development stages,” Blair explained. “Whether it was another aspiration technology, another Archimedes screw, another maceration contraption, or another metal scrapping tool, nobody was superior to clot removal a...
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