ARTICLE SUMMARY:
An Ontario start-up offers an updated aortic balloon occlusion system to boost safety and ease of use.
Biomedical engineer Asha Parekh, PhD, co-founded Front Line Medical Technologies with vascular surgeon Adam Power, MD, in 2017 to develop and commercialize an invention of theirs that has the potential to change emergency medicine for the better. Front Line’s debut product, the COBRA-OS (Control Of Bleeding, Resuscitation, Arterial Occlusion System), makes it easier than ever to perform the life-saving REBOA (resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta) procedure in both clinical and field emergency settings (see Figure 1). Parekh’s prior forays into medtech include orthopedic devices, bioprosthetic heart valves, and oncological imaging.