Rocker Bret Michaels has one. Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi has one. Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, has one too.
What they have is a hole in the heart known as a patent foramen ovale, or PFO. It's a problem shared with millions of other Americans -- one that, left undetected, can lead to strokes and death.
Until now, detecting a PFO has required the skills of two physicians, use of a heart catheterization lab, mild sedation and a plastic tube shoved uncomfortably down the throat, says CardioX CEO Larry Heaton. That procedure is so uncomfortable that many patients refuse follow-up tests to determine if treatments have been effective.
But if all goes as planned, the Dublin-based CardioX will complete clinical trials this summer -- and next year begin marketing -- a siimpler process that requires only a small injection of dye into the blood, sensors attached to a person's ears and a tube into which a patient blows to open the flap covering the PFO. (Because blood passing through a PFO doesn't go to the lungs as it should, the dye will reach the ears ahead of schedule -- proving the existence of the hole).
CardioX, founded in 2008, has raised about $4 million in outside investments, including two rounds led by Reservoir Venture Partners and Early Stage Partners, respectively. The company has also benefited from angel funding led by Ohio TechAngels and $500,000 through the TechColumbus Regional Commercialization Fund.
"The combination of (state) initiatives, along with the source of capital, have combined to make a very nice climate for CardioX to stay here in this area," Heaton says.
The company has five full-time employees and a network of about half-a dozen outsourced or part-time people, Heaton says. More will come on board as the system goes to market.
Source: Larry Heaton, CardioX
Writer: Gene Monteith