June 6, 2018

Sanford Health and Freudenberg Medical, a global developer and manufacturer for the medical device industry, have entered into a joint research and development agreement to create a device to treat blood clots and blockages within blood vessels.

The catheter will infuse medications to exact locations in an artery or vein, helping to restore blood flow.

It was invented by Dr. Patrick Kelly of Sanford Health Innovations, which is part of Sanford Health. Kelly is a vascular surgeon with an engineering background who collaborates in search of innovative ways to solve medical problems. This agreement allows Freudenberg Medical to determine the commercial potential of this device. Once the catheter has been developed, next steps would include early pre-clinical testing and eventual pursuit of an FDA review that allows a company to legally market a device in the United States.

Kelly said there has to be a more efficient and less expensive way to treat blood clots and blockages, and he wants to find it.

“I look at the issues my patients have and the available treatments, and our team is always trying to find a way to improve those treatments,” Kelly said. “Combining medicine with engineering and a real desire to keep people independent and ambulatory is what drives me every day. I look forward to working with Freudenberg Medical to make this idea come to life.”

Freudenberg Medical executives said it has an engineering group that is well suited to evaluate and optimize Kelly’s catheter concept.

Sanford inventor collaborating with medical giant