structural-heart
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The Tiny Net Between Heart Surgery and a Stroke
During a valve replacement, flecks of calcium and tissue can ride the bloodstream toward the brain. Transverse Medical is betting that one carefully placed filter can stop the trip without getting in the cardiologist’s way.
Conformal Medical
Conformal Medical is a Nashua, New Hampshire medical device company developing the CLAAS AcuFORM System, a next-generation left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) implant that uses a proprietary foam matrix to seal the left atrial appendage and reduce stroke risk in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Its design conforms to a wide range of anatomies with only two device sizes, and is intended to make LAAO a same-day, single-operator procedure that can avoid general anesthesia and transesophageal echocardiography. In February 2026 the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of W. L. Gore & Associates.
EchoPixel, Inc.
EchoPixel is a Silicon Valley medical visualization company that turns ordinary CT, MRI and ultrasound scans into life-size, interactive 4D holograms of a patient's own anatomy. Its FDA-cleared True3D platform and Holographic Therapy Guidance (HTG) let surgeons and interventional cardiologists reach in and manipulate a digital twin of a heart or organ - no headset or glasses required - to plan and guide complex, minimally invasive procedures.
Capstan Medical
Capstan Medical is a Santa Cruz, California medical device company building a robotic, catheter-based platform to repair and replace heart valves through minimally invasive procedures. By merging surgical robotics, catheter-based delivery, and next-generation implants, the company aims to bring structural heart intervention - starting with mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation - to patients who are too sick or too high-risk for open-heart surgery. Founded in 2020 and led by CEO Maggie Nixon, Capstan has raised more than $140 million and completed its first robot-assisted transcatheter mitral valve replacements in humans.