{"id":459754,"date":"2023-10-03T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=459754"},"modified":"2023-10-03T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T04:30:00","slug":"haermonics-officially-launches-its-device-to-prevent-heart-surgery-complications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/haermonics-officially-launches-its-device-to-prevent-heart-surgery-complications\/","title":{"rendered":"Haermonics officially launches its device to prevent heart surgery complications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cI have been thinking about a device like this one for 30 years, since my training days, today is a very special day for me,\u201d states David R. Koolbergen, looking at the device he had thought about for decades. He is a heart surgeon at Amsterdam Univerisity Medical Center and, most importantly, the founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/haermonics.com\/\">Haermonics<\/a>, an Eindhoven-based MedTech company.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"io-block io-block__summary\"><ul><li>Haermonics Pure is a device that flushes the chest cavities of heart surgery patients. <\/li><li>The device prevents complications from happening and gives doctors decision-making tools. <\/li><li>The company will now apply for European and American medical certifications. <\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The company launched Haermonics Pure, a medical device that self-flushes the chest cavity of patients who underwent heart surgery, preventing complications. Such knottinesses are behind 250 deaths worldwide every day. Following the intervention, residual blood or clots obstruct the pericardial space and the drainages, potentially leading to a second surgery to be dealt with. Yet, washing the chest cavity with warm saline is enough to prevent dangerous complications \u2013 like tamponade \u2013 and that\u2019s what Haermonics Pure does.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although it was an over three decades old idea, its realization had to wait long years. Haermonics is an eight-year-old company that had to survive several valleys of death &#8211; as Koolbergen likes to call them \u2013 with more to come, as it is set to apply for CE marking and to raise funds to continue its mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Doctors in full control<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Eindhoven&#8217;s Microlab&#8217;s sky bar is the presentation&#8217;s venue. Out of a bulky sky-blue box comes Pure, unpacked by Haermonics CEO Wouter Markus and the city of Eindhoven\u2019s alderman for the economy, Stijn Steenbakkers. The device, with round shapes and white and light blue colors, takes the center of the stage, welcomed by rounds of applause and a symbolic toast.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides preventing complications, the device also gives an accurate overview of what is going on in the patient\u2019s body. Current practices see nurses kneeling beside the bedside to check blood loss every 15 minutes. This praxis is inaccurate as the nurse might simply need to check on someone else. \u201cMoreover, drainage systems do not work well in 30 percent of the patients. If any other device in the hospital has a comparable failing rate, it would be banned. But that is not the case for this stupid pot, invented in 1875, which has not changed ever since,\u201d underlines Koolbergen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"459782\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230927_174412-753x1004.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-459782\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"459781\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.ioplus.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230927_175136-753x1004.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-459781\"\/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">On the left, Stijn Steenbakkers and David Koolbergen unpacking the device; on the right,  Wouter Markus explains its functionalities. &#8211; \u00a9 Innovation Origins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With Pure, Haermonics wants to give doctors a decision-making tool. By having knowledge of what the exact blood loss is, surgeons can decide whether or not a second operation is needed within the first four hours. This span of time after the first surgery makes the difference, as, in the event of a wound reopening, there is less harm for the patient, too. Avoiding a second operation means relieving people from excessive trauma \u2013 thus allowing them to get healthier faster \u2013 and reducing hospital costs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will to innovate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite noticing that the solution to the problem was simple, Koolbergen did not initially find a fertile ground to test his ideas. \u201cThinking about ways to improve the practice and bring down mortality rates was not the priority at that time,\u201d he recalls. Years later, he got the green light from the head of its department to start testing, \u201cbut nobody has to know,\u201d as Koolbergen&#8217;s boss told when starting the first trials. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things changed in the course of the years. \u201cUnnecessary risk is no longer tolerated, and young people want to innovate,\u201d adds Koolbergen. Eindhoven lives up to its name of an innovation city, with Markus stressing that the idea behind Pure was born in Amsterdam, but the company had to move to Lighttown to make it a reality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steenbakkers could not ask for anything better. \u201cIn this city, real solutions for big societal challenges are developed, where 30 percent of the private money financing R&amp;D is spent. We need technologies like this to keep health affordable and with high quality in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-f51b9be3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/bic-2-to-enable-the-much-needed-development-of-the-high-tech-manufacturing-industry-in-the-netherlands\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"BIC 2 to enable the much-needed development of the high-tech manufacturing industry in the Netherlands\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">BIC 2 to enable the much-needed development of the high-tech manufacturing industry in the Netherlands<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">According to the initiators, it is about nothing less than the further development of the manufacturing industry in the Netherlands and thus &#8220;securing our prosperity, our autonomy and the living environment for generations to come&#8221;.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Magical feeling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For Haermonics\u2019 CEO Wouter Markus, pride is the key feeling of the day. He is proud to see the device in real life, of his team\u2019s work, and of the journey the company had to endure. That is the key message he conveys. Looking back at the past months, he thanks partners like <a href=\"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/en\/?s=demcon\">DEMCON<\/a>, who completed the assignment of designing and constructing the device in less than a year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a collaborative effort, with medical trials in between, financing rounds, and hiccups. All for a higher motivation. \u201cThe moment you realize that you are saving lives and that it is happening, that it is true, that does give you an extra drive. It is a magical feeling because the patient\u2019s heart starts beating again. That is when you understand that you are not pushing the buttons of a toy,\u201d Markus underlines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Haermonics Pure is already packing. It will be on show at the upcoming European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eacts.org\/\">EACTS<\/a>) annual meeting happening in Vienna. There, other doctors have the chance to see and feel the device.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link advgb-dyn-15142222\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/continuous-flushing-system-avoids-post-surgery-operations\/\" class=\"vlp-link\" title=\"Continuous flushing system avoids post-surgery operations\"><\/a><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-side\"><div class=\"vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"vlp-layout-zone-main\"><div class=\"vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title\">Continuous flushing system avoids post-surgery operations<\/div><div class=\"vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary\">Postoperative complications from heart surgery are the reason for 250 deaths worldwide every day. Residual blood and clots in the pericardial cavity cause complications &#8211; such as tamponade &#8211; which need a second operation to be dealt with. <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wider impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having funding rounds and medical certification approvals in sight, both Koolbergen and Markus do not forget the real mission, confident of the impact their technology can have. \u201cAs a surgeon, I prolong and improve patients\u2019 lives. But if this works, and if it reaches all of Europe and of the world, my impact will be a thousandfold or a ten thousandfold,\u201d states Koolbergen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being a businessman \u2013 having previously founded other startups \u2013 Markus does not see the exit as the goal. \u201cThere are many more opportunities out there. Today, we are flushing with warm saline, but tomorrow, we could flush with medicines. There are many other complications to look at, in the heart and other parts of the body. This is only the first step,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI have been thinking about a device like this one for 30 years, since my training days, today is a very special day for me,\u201d states David R. Koolbergen, looking at the device he had thought about for decades. He is a heart surgeon at Amsterdam Univerisity Medical Center and, most importantly, the founder of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":494375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34665],"tags":[73368,57446,9900,70646],"location":[6763],"article_type":[43139],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[],"class_list":["post-459754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-haermonics","tag-heart-surgery","tag-medtech","tag-medtech-2","location-netherlands","article_type-features"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Haermonics Pure is a device that flushes the chest cavities of patients who underwent heart surgery, preventing post-operative complications. ","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230927_1800191-1-rotated.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/health\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Health<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Health<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/health\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Haermonics<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/health\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">heart surgery<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/health\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">medtech<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/category\/health\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">medtech<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Haermonics<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">heart surgery<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">medtech<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">medtech<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 3, 2023","modified":"Updated on October 3, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 3, 2023 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on October 3, 2023 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=459754"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=459754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}