LapSpace Medical, which is developing a balloon retractor for laparoscopic surgery, has raised more than $1 million from private investors, Trendlines and the Chief Scientist. LapSpace, which is a portfolio company of Trendlines International and is based at the Trendlines Misgav medical technologies incubator in the Western Galilee, licensed the technology patent from the Johns Hopkins University.
LapSpace Medical is developing an inflatable balloon retractor to retract organs such as intestines. Deployed through a trocar and inflated once inside the abdominal cavity, the retractor gently "catches" and retracts the organs to create space and a stable operating field. The device was invented by Hien Nguyen, M.D. an assistant professor of surgery and biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, where he specializes in minimally invasive surgery, who serves as a clinical advisor to LapSpace.
LapSpace Medical was awarded clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013 and will begin to market their product in the US in 2014. The process for CE clearance in Europe has begun.
LapSpace Medical CEO Assaf Livne said, "During the research and development of the product, we witnessed the efficiency and quality of the results. We passed pre-clinical trials and achieved the goals set, i.e. dramatically shortening procedures and reducing risk of complications."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 12, 2013
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