Aortica Corporation, a Kirkland-based medical device manufacturer, has raised a $7 million funding round that will help complete a FDA study for the company’s newly-developed tools.

Aortica has come up with a way to use 3D-printing technology to help patients suffering from Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Disease whose anatomy does not allow for conventional surgery.

AAA, which affects up to 180,000 Americans each year, happens when a bulge forms in the aorta, the largest artery in the human body. To fix the disorder, doctors have been using a non-invasive method since the 90s called Endovascular Aortic Repair (EVAR) to insert a catheter into the aorta. This method speeds up recovery time and shortens hospital stays post-surgery.

But Aortica says that 30-to-40 percent of patients with AAA have an aortic anatomy that doesn’t allow for EVAR and have to undergo a more dangerous open surgery instead.

To help those that can’t have the traditional EVAR procedure done, Aortica is developing a “patient-specific” solution that uses an individual’s CT scans and 3D printing to manufacture custom-built endografts that can be used for the EVAR procedure.

Along with the funding announcement, Aortica also appointed Tom Douthitt as its new CEO and president. We’ve reached out to Douthitt for more details about the company and will update when we hear back.