We conducted an interview with the CEO of Osprey Medical, Mike McCormick, on Wednesday, 1 February 2017.

Company name:

Osprey Medical (based in Minnesota, USA)

The problem that this company is trying to solve:

Acute kidney injury due to the side-effects of the dyes used in angiography.

Angiography is an X-ray imaging technique to visualise your heart and blood vessels (for example, to see if you have a blockage in your arteries). This procedure involves injecting a contrast medium (a dye) into your blood vessels.

While the toxicity of the dye is generally well tolerated in patients with healthy kidneys, it could be detrimental for patients with a pre-existing kidney problem. Approximately 25% of patients that require an angiography already have kidney problems due to pre-existing conditions like diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Compromised kidneys are slower in filtering the dye, and since the dye now spends more time in the kidneys, it has a greater chance of further damaging the organ.

The acute kidney injury that ensues, called “Contrast Induced Nephropathy (CIN)”, can lead to irreversible kidney damage. Patients often require hospitalisation and long term dialysis. CIN is often associated with a poor quality of life and significantly shortened life expectancy. No treatments are currently available to reverse CIN.

How this company is solving the problem:

Osprey Medical has developed “DyeVertTM NG”, a device that mechanically minimizes the amount of dye injected by >40%. It has been shown that this does not compromise the quality of the image of the angiogram.

Their device has been approved by the FDA after successful clinical trials, and poses no risk to the patient. Furthermore, the simple device could be easily integrated into the hospital’s current workflow (it does not require a change in the dye, or the imaging technique itself).

The original research behind the device was conducted by Prof. David Kaye at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

New improvements currently being made to the product:

The latest version of the product, coming out soon, combines the current system with a smart display that can actively monitor the dye in real-time. It provides a more accurate method of monitoring the exact dye dosage given to the patient based on the patient’s kidney function, and allows the physician to better manage the patient.

How do patients have access to this product?

At the moment, there are 45 hospitals around the US that offer this device.

If you have a pre-existing kidney condition and are interested in using this product for your angiogram, please consult your physician, or contact Osprey here to find the closest hospital to you that offers the use of this device.

Osprey is hoping to expand to the European market in 2018.