Sonavex, a Baltimore-based medical device company spun out of Johns Hopkins University, simplifies hemodialysis patient care through a portfolio of novel ultrasound technologies that provide critical visual and quantitative data to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.
Many hemodialysis patients rely on central venous catheters (CVCs)—long, flexible tubes, often inserted in the neck, that lead to a large vein connected to your heart. CVCs allow direct access to the bloodstream for patients requiring frequent treatments. Unfortunately, these catheters can lead to dangerous bloodstream infections, putting patients at high risk of becoming gravely ill and increasing mortality.
Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs)—surgically created connections between arteries and veins—are a safer alternative to CVCs, but need to mature to an adequate size and flow rate prior to use. Currently, ultrasound is used to determine whether the AVF has matured, but these exams cannot be performed in the dialysis clinic. Instead, patients must travel to separate appointments to a vascular lab, where trained ultrasonographers can assess the AVF. Unfortunately, compliance with these visits is less than 33 percent, which leads to a delay in decision-making and extended reliance on CVCs.
Sonavex’s patented EchoMark & EchoSure System utilizes a bioresorbable implant and ultrasound device that work together to simplify the process of monitoring AVFs, so much so that all medical professionals, not only those specially trained to use ultrasound, can assess hemodialysis patients. By enabling care team members to monitor AVFs directly in a dialysis clinic, rather than requiring patients to go to special ultrasound technician offices, the company believes they will be able to improve patient outcomes and lower the costs of treatments.
Their bioresorbable implant, the EchoMark, is highly echogenic, making it easily visible on ultrasound. Placing the implant at an AVF site allows care team members to easily locate the vein via ultrasound and begin collecting data.
EchoSure is an artificial intelligence-enhanced ultrasound device that, working with the EchoMark through proprietary algorithms, provides users with the AVF flow rate, diameter, and depth, all necessary parameters in evaluating a fistula’s maturation.
By simplifying the collection of AVF data and making ultrasound more accessible, Sonavex hopes to limit the number of people using catheters, reducing infections and other complications. The company is currently running a clinical trial on their EchoMark device, and is working toward a new FDA clearance.
Since inception, Sonavex has raised $34 million in equity and grant funding, including a $90,000 Maryland Industrial Partnerships grant in 2016. The company also participated in an I-Corps Short Course at George Washington University in the fall of 2014.
Programs: I-Corps, MIPS
