We recognized that patients suffering from penetrating trauma to the arms and legs occasionally would develop AVFs when the artery and vein were injured in close proximity. When we looked at these patients more closely, we realized that AVFs created this way were much less likely to close spontaneously. We attempted to reproduce this physiology with a catheter-based approach.

Our goal with the everlinQ system is to enable patients to receive a less invasive AVF that is usable for hemodialysis within two months and that reproduces the outstanding durability we observed in traumatic AVFs. While it's too early to estimate the savings we might achieve with everlinQ, with 2.5 million patients worldwide getting hemodialysis, the potential for improved outcomes and cost savings is significant.


DOTmed News: What are the biggest obstacles that you find when introducing new technology like this into a health care facility and what advice do you give to those facilities?

WEC: TVA Medical is currently in the stage of studying the everlinQ system in clinical trials outside the U.S., and our near-term goal is to collaborate with top medical centers around the world to continue to generate clinical evidence supporting delivery of our technology. Doing so requires the collaboration of a multi-disciplinary team including nephrologists, who manage patients with kidney disease, and vascular surgeons and interventional specialists who perform the procedure.

Like any new technology, the everlinQ system requires a change in the way patients are referred and treated, and as such requires a commitment by the physicians and nurses involved in the care of the dialysis patient. We, as health care providers, are all highly motivated to improve the lives of our patients, and technologies that improve results and reduce morbidity make the challenges associated with change much less daunting.

It is very rewarding for our team to see the enthusiasm generated by clinical centers after their physicians witness firsthand how the TVA technology can favorably impact the lives of their patients suffering with renal failure.

I encourage centers to be leaders and innovators in the field by seizing the opportunity to improve patient care with new technologies that are less invasive and can potentially improve results, reduce adverse events, and decrease health care costs.

DOTmed News: What does it mean for the system now that it won the 2014 Innovations in Cardiovascular Interventions Best Start-Up Innovations Award?

More Voices