EchoGuide is Sonavex’s pipeline product designed to improve cannulation for dialysis patients.
Baltimore, MD (September 25th, 2024) – Sonavex, Inc., a privately held medical device company with ultrasound technologies that deliver quantitative blood flow and other critical vascular data at the point of care, announced today that it was awarded a $2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase IIB Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance EchoGuideTM, Sonavex’s pipeline product designed to reduce cannulation injury for dialysis patients. The grant will support activities necessary to pursue regulatory clearance from the Food and Drug Administration and fund a clinical trial.
By 2025, there will be 4.9 million patients worldwide with End Stage Renal Disease that require access to their circulation with needles (cannulation) to enable blood filtration via hemodialysis three times per week.[i] The preferred method of access, an arteriovenous fistula (AVF), is notoriously challenging for Patient Care Technicians (PCTs) to cannulate successfully. The primary challenge faced by technicians is the inability to see the fistula when attempting to place large needles into the vessel. Needle misplacement is frequent and leads to serious and expensive complications such as hematoma, infection, and aneurysm formation.[ii],[iii] Sonavex’s EchoGuide is an automated 3D ultrasound solution that provides volumetric imaging of a fistula to aid technicians in AVF cannulation.
“Cannulation injuries have continually caused serious harm to our patients and have resulted in major disruptions to our dialysis clinics,” said Dr. Randy Cooper, co-Principal Investigator of the grant. “We have been searching for an easy-to-use solution that can be seamlessly integrated into the dialysis clinic workflow and are incredibly grateful to the NIH for providing the support needed to bring this important technology to patients.”
“With decades of experience in End Stage Renal Disease, as a caregiver, in operating roles with dialysis organizations and as a patient advocate, I have seen firsthand that cannulation can be a major fear for patients and is the “Achilles heel” of hemodialysis therapy,” said Terry Litchfield, President of Access Solutions and collaborator on this clinical research. “Advancements that assist successful cannulation would be welcomed by patients and the care team alike. EchoGuide offers promise to improve quality of life by lessening the burden of needle injury and improving patient outcomes.”
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R44DK131644. The content in this release is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views or imply endorsement of the National Institutes of Health.
About Sonavex, Inc.
Sonavex, Inc. is a Baltimore-based medical device company originally spun out of Johns Hopkins. The company has developed a portfolio of novel ultrasound solutions that empower patient care by delivering critical visual and quantitative data to improve outcomes and reduce costs. For more information, please visit www.sonavex.com.
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[i] Fresenius 2018 Annual Report
[ii] Kumbar L, Ramani K, Brouwer-Maier D. Considerations in Access Cannulation: Traditional and Evolving Approaches. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2020 May;27(3):199-207. doi: 10.1053/j.ackd.2020.03.007. PMID: 32891303.
[iii] van Loon MM, Kessels AG, Van der Sande FM, Tordoir JH. Cannulation and vascular access-related complications in hemodialysis: factors determining successful cannulation. Hemodial Int. 2009 Oct;13(4):498-504. doi: 10.1111/j.1542-4758.2009.00382.x. PMID: 19840142.