SympSolutions’ AccuRIGHT

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects one-third of all Americans, increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and renal disease, and is directly associated with 350,000 American deaths annually. In the US, the annual cost attributable to hypertension is $250 billion in medical expenses. Currently, antihypertensive drugs are the only treatment. However, these therapies fail for 20% of hypertensive Americans that cannot control their blood pressure even when using multiple antihypertensive medications. These patients have a condition known as resistant hypertension. Two experimental device-based treatments have shown promise, but are currently in clinical trials: renal denervation (RDN) and baroreceptor stimulation (CBS). However, RDN excludes one third of patients and may damage the renal artery. Meanwhile, CBS requires the invasive implantation of a device and has failed safety endpoints due to severe procedural complications. Therefore, there is a need for a novel device-based treatment to help the millions with resistant hypertension.

The proportion of hypertensive Americans continues to grow and the market for device-based therapies for hypertension continues to expand. SympSolutions has developed AccuRIGHT, a novel device to treat resistant hypertension within a clinician’s office. The device utilizes the well established technology of high intensity focused ultrasound to noninvasively eliminate the carotid body, a central contributor to hypertension, without an operating room. In past animal and human trials, surgical removal of the carotid body has proven both safe and effective, creating reductions in pressure sufficient to restore normal blood pressure values in patients. In terms of development, initial feasibility animal trials have begun, ultrasound simulations have been performed to evaluate initial safety profiles, and a therapeutic ultrasound setup has been proven to generate lesions sufficient to eliminate the carotid body.

As this novel device avoids the shortcomings of other device-based treatments, patients will see improved health outcomes, health care providers will gain a new source of revenue, and the cost burden to the healthcare system will be reduced.