Endograft

fastening

solution

for a complete seal and stability

We strive to provide AAA patients undergoing Endovascular Aneurysm Repair with a long-lasting sealing and fixation solution for their endograft

Aortoseal was developed to mimic the reliable hand-sewn suturing technique from open surgery, evenly
distributing staples around the circumference of the aorta, creating leak and migration free anastomosis.

AAA

AAA – Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm – occurs when a portion of the aorta bulges into an aneurysm. This usually happens because of a weakened vessel wall, and can cause life threatening internal bleeding if ruptured. The standard treatment is a stent graft implanted through a minimally invasive procedure called EVAR – Endovascular Aneurysm Repair. In the USA alone, there are currently 2 million aortic aneurysm cases with an additional 200,000 cases discovered every year. The overall patient mortality rate for a ruptured AAA is approximately 80%, making it among the leading causes of death.

THE NEED

A successful EVAR procedure depends on the anatomy of the aorta, which often varies significantly from patient to patient.
Short aortic necks, or angulated aortas, result in poor apposition of the stent graft to the aortic wall.
This in turn, leads to graft migration and leakage – which increases intra-saccular pressure and risks rupture of the aneurysm.

Unfortunately, 30% to 40% of AAA patients present with such complex aortic necks.

THE SOLUTION

Aortoseal™ is a long-lasting FIXATION and SEALING device that holds the stent graft securely in place.
It uses a smart stapling mechanism that enables multiple staples to simultaneously penetrate the stent graft and the aortic wall.  The end result is a suturing effect similar to one performed manually during open surgery that permanently isolates the aneurysm. With a small profile delivery system, Aortoseal is quickly deployed via a single release action.
Our technology enables the implementation of endograft procedures in almost all types of anatomies and can dramatically reduce complications and reinterventions. 

Zeroneck implant’s opening and
positioning inside the stent graft
provides a stable structure for the
staples.

zeroneck AAA

Staples are released from
the delivery sheath to be set
perpendicular to the stent
graft, ready to be activated.

To activate the staples the
balloon applies pressure on
the base of each one, pushing
them through the stent graft
and the aortic wall,
all the way to the adventitia.

zeroneck aaa

The eagle-like wings of the staples
are pre-shaped to open up and
“hug” the graft and aortic wall from
both sides, securing sealing and
fixation of the stent graft

Implantation in-vivo

Vascular anastomosis through endovascular approach

Aortoseal’s BENEFITS

360° SIMULTANEOUS
FIXATION

SIMPLE, FAST
DEPLOYMENT

TRANSMURAL
ATTACHMENT TO THE
ADVENTITIAL LAYER
FOR TIGHT SEALING

UNIQUELY DESIGNED
TO FIT SHORT &
COMPLICATED NECK
ANATOMIES

MIMICS THE EFFECT
OF SURGICAL
ANASTOMOSIS

TEAM

ronit harpaz

Ronit Harpaz

Co-founder & CEO

eyal teichman

Eyal Teichman

Co-Founder & CTO

Dr. Ron Karmeli

Co-Founder & CMO

Dr. Jacques Seguin

Chairman of the Board

avi ludomirsky

Dr. Avi Ludomirsky

Board member

Dr. Lukas Guenther

Partner, MD Start Strategy

Jeff Elkins

Advisor

Cécile Dupont

Senior Associate, Program Director, MD Start Strategy

juan carlos parodi

Dr. Juan Parodi

Scientific Advisory Board member

ralf kolvenbach

Prof. Ralf Kolvenbach

Scientific Advisory Board member

CONTACT US

European Innovation Council

The European Innovation Council (EIC) was established by the European Commission in 2021 following a 3 years successful pilot phase. It has a mission to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and disruptive innovation. It has a budget of over €10 billion for the period 2021-2027.
The funding and support is organised into three main funding schemes covering all technology readiness levels: EIC Pathfinder for advanced research to develop the scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies; EIC Transition to validate technologies and develop business plans for specific applications; and the EIC Accelerator to support companies (SMEs, start-ups, spin-outs and in exceptional cases small mid-caps) to bring their innovations to market and scale up. The Accelerator provides a combination of grant support and direct equity investments in companies through a dedicated EIC Fund, which also provides a platform for co-investments with other investors.
For all schemes, the direct financial support is augmented with access to a range of Business Acceleration Services.
The strategy and implementation of the EIC is overseen by the EIC Board of twenty individuals from the innovation ecosystem (academia, business, investment, ecosystem builders). The EIC also employs dedicated Programme Managers with high level expertise in their fields, to set the challenges and proactively manage portfolios of projects towards technological breakthroughs.

 

Ronit Harpaz

Co-founder & CEO

Ronit is an experienced medical device executive with expertise in startup financing, fund raising, strategic alliances and partnerships. Ronit lived in Australia for 15 years, is a member of the 8400 Leadership Fellowship, a Merage Institute Alumna, and a member of the Golden Key International Honors Society. Ronit holds a Bachelor of Applied Science Physiotherapy degree with Honors, from Sydney University, and an MBA from New South Wales University, Australia. 

Eyal Teichman

Co-Founder & CTO

Eyal has over 30 years of extensive experience leading multidisciplinary R&D teams and projects, from concept to production. His expertise encompasses cardiovascular devices, balloons, and delivery systems. He previously held senior R&D positions at Labcoat, Cappella, Talia Technology, Celtronix and Orbotech. Eyal holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Ben Gurion University and an MBA from the Derby University, England.

Dr. Ron Karmeli

Co-Founder & CMO

Dr. Karmeli is currently the Head of the Vascular Surgery Department at Hadassah Medical Center. In his previous role, Dr. Karmeli built and managed the Vascular Surgery Department at Carmel Hospital in Haifa for 24 years. In addition to his role at Hadassah, Dr. Karmeli serves as an expert consultant in Israel — and around the world — in complex vascular operations and implantation of peripheral arterial stents. Dr. Karmeli holds an M.D. from the Technion Institute of Haifa, Israel.

Dr. Jacques Seguin

Chairman of the Board

Jacques Séguin is a professor of Cardiac Surgery at Paris University and holds, in addition to his MD, a PhD in Biochemistry and also in Medical History. After 20 years performing over 4,000 open-heart surgeries and being the author of more than 200 articles published in peer-reviewed international medical journals, he went on to found several medical technology companies: He was the driving force behind the creation of CoreValve and pioneered the self-expandable TAVR procedure, prior to its acquisition by Medtronic in February 2009 for over $800 million. The CoreValve revalving system was the first TAVR valve to gain CE Mark in May 2007. Jacques also founded ReCor – a renal denervation company acquired by Otsuka (Japan) in 2018. Prof. Séguin now serves as board member and chairman of several innovative companies in the Medtech space.

Dr. Avi Ludomirsky

Director of the Board

Dr. Ludomirski is the founder of the Vitalife Life Sciences Fund. He has been a consultant to a number of Israeli and American venture capital funds and large medical technology companies, including GE Medical, ATL – Philips, Medison, Matria Healthcare, and QED Technologies. He currently serves as Director or Chairman of BioControl Medical, Deep Breeze, DIR Technologies, EndoSpan, MST, Pocared Diagnostics, Recro Pharma and Sensible Medical Innovations. Previously, Dr. Ludomirski served as Chairman of Sightline Technologies (sold to Stryker) and MediGuide (sold to St. Jude). Dr. Ludomirski earned his M.D. at the Sackler Tel-Aviv University Medical School.

Dr. Lukas Guenther

Partner, MD Start Strategy

Lukas joined in 2019 and is a partner on the MD Start team. He is a medical doctor and was trained in General Surgery at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg.
As a former surgeon, the hands-on approach at MD Start appealed to him.
Lukas was a postdoctoral scientist at the Novartis Center for Immunobiology at Harvard University, where he conducted preclinical research on protective genes. Subsequently, Lukas completed a Fellowship at the University of Minnesota as Organ Harvest Fellow, where he participated in NIH-sponsored clinical trials on islet transplantation.
In 2007, he joined the life science investment team at Wellington Partners, a pan-European venture capital firm where he advanced to investment director and invested in several European early stage life science companies.
Lukas holds a summa cum laude doctorate from Humboldt University (Charité) Berlin. He also obtained a Global One MBA degree from RSM Erasmus.

Jeff Elkins

Board member

Jeff Elkins has over 30 years of experience across a range of leadership and operational roles in both large and start-up medical device companies, primarily focused on emerging endovascular and interventional technologies. Mr. Elkins was most recently President and CEO of Veniti, a venous stent company which was acquired by Boston Scientific. Prior to that, Mr. Elkins held multiple roles including VP of Operations, COO, and CEO at Aptus EndoSystems, acquired by Medtronic; Founder, VP Operations/COO and CEO of FlowMedica, acquired by AngioDynamics; and VP Operations and CTO for World Medical Corp, acquired by Medtronic. Mr. Elkins has also held the role of Vice President and Business Unit Manager for the Endovascular Division of Medtronic. He also had various Operations and R&D/Product Development and management responsibilities at Cordis and Cordis Endovascular Systems Interventional Neuro (acquired by Johnson &Johnson), and Haemonetics Corporation. Mr. Elkins received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from U Massachusetts, Amherst.

Cécile Dupont

Senior Associate, Program Director, MD Start Strategy

Cécile joined MD Start team in 2019. She is currently CEO of HEPTA Medical, and brings her operational and strategic expertise to Endoron to accelerate the development of the company’s highly disruptive technology. Prior to that, she was COO of Gradient Denervation Technologies, and director of clinical, regulatory and market access at SafeHeal, the first company created by MD Start II, where she managed the execution of the first-in-human study and regulatory approvals in the EU and US.
Prior to joining MD Start, Cécile held various clinical, marketing and regulatory positions in both mature and start-up medical device organizations in the fields of endoscopy, pulmonology, dermatology, surgery and diabetes care; for single and multi-use disposable products and capital equipment.
Cécile holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from UTC (Université de Technologies de Compiègne) in France, Dalarna University (Sweden) and Favoloro University (Buenos Aires) in Argentina. She also has a degree in corporate finance from HEC in Paris.

Dr. Juan Parodi

Scientific Advisory Board member

Doctor Parodi is an Argentinian vascular surgeon and the FOREFATHER OF EVAR: he was the first person to perform an endovascular repair of an infra-renal aortic aneurysm in the West. Parodi was also a creator of the Parodi Endograft, one of the biggest innovations in the history of vascular surgery. Parodi operated on Jorge Bergoglio, the man who became the pope. He is a visiting professor at Stanford University, New York University, the University of London and the University of Tokyo, and is an honorary professor of Surgery at Buenos Aires University.

Prof. Ralf Kolvenbach

Scientific Advisory Board member

Prof. Kolvenbach is a respected vascular surgeon with over 20 years of experience. He heads the Department of Vascular Surgery & the Endovascular Therapy Unit at St. Augusta Hospital, part of the Düsseldorf Clinics Association. Prof. Kolvenbach graduated from the University of Düsseldorf, and he was a fellow in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery in Birmingham USA. He was invited to lecture and to perform vascular procedures in major clinics worldwide including the Hadassah University Hospital Jerusalem, St. Mary´s Hospital London and several University Hospitals in France and Italy.