Angioslide, a graduate of the Naiot Technological Center in Nazareth in northern Israel, has completed an $8.25 million fund raising round, sources told Globes, Israel’s financial newspaper.
Angioslide has developed an angioplasty balloon designed to prevent embolisms. In the next few months, Angioslide expects to receive FDA approval. Once approval is received, sales in the US will start immediately.
The process of inflating a standard angioplasty balloon can cause small particles to be swept away and block smaller blood vessels. These embolisms can lead to the amputation of toes, renal failure, stroke, or myocardial infarction, depending on the location of the procedure.
Angioslide’s product contains the solution within the balloon itself. After the balloon is inflated within the blood vessel, a hook on the guidewire is gently pulled backwards, pulling after it the far end of the balloon, so that it folds back within the balloon, forming a hollow cone. This creates negative pressure in the space vacated by the end of the balloon that draws into it the problematic debris. Then, when the balloon is deflated, the debris at the bottom of the cone is trapped inside and can easily be pulled out.