Funding for Cooling Device to Help Paramedics Treat Cardiac Arrest Patients

Originally published on MedCityNews.com.

A portable device for ambulances could someday soon make it easier and quicker for emergency responders to treat cardiac arrest and stroke victims with therapeutic hypothermia.

Originally published on MedCityNews.com.

A portable device for ambulances could someday soon make it easier and quicker for emergency responders to treat cardiac arrest and stroke victims with therapeutic hypothermia.

Novocor Medical Systems Inc. is developing HypoCore, a device that’s designed to quickly cool saline as it’s administered to patients to induce therapeutic hypothermia. In cardiac arrest patients, therapeutic hypothermia is used after resuscitation to prevent damage to brain tissue due to a lack of blood flow and oxygenation. In studies, it’s been linked to reduced brain damage and improved survival rates in these patients.

The Raleigh, North Carolina startup recently closed in on $337,000 in new funding. In a statement, the company said this was the first closing of a $961,000 Series A financing that will come in two more tranches. In an SEC filing, the company indicated it could continue raising up to $1.6 million.

There are multiple methods under development and in use for inducing hypothermia, including use of cooling pads and vests, injection of refrigerated saline through a catheter, and intranasal delivery of cooling liquid.

Novocor’s device cools room temperature saline as it enters a patient’s body, according to CEO Tony Voiers’ LinkedIn page, which would eliminate the need for refrigeration. It doesn’t require external power and is stored easily in ambulances, fire trucks and helicopters, so that paramedics could take it into the field with them.

Voiers could not be reached today but told the Triangle Business Journal that the financing will fund tests to support an FDA filing, which he expects is about a year and a half away.

Using technology developed by students and faculty at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, the company was founded this spring. It’s been propelled so far by financial support including grants from NC IDEA (a non-profit offshoot of the venture firm Idea Fund Partners) and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. It was also part of TEDMED’s inaugural startup showcase called “The Hive” earlier this year.

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