Closely-held CellAegis Devices completed enrollment in an investigator sponsored study (FIRST) to evaluate the clinical and economic benefits of remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) therapy in the treatment of patients presenting with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attacks and delivered by CellAegis’ autoRIC device.
FIRST will examine clinical outcomes and costs of treatment for 1,800 STEMI heart attack patients receiving RIC with autoRIC device therapy, compared with standard treatment at the first point of medical contact in an ambulance or at the hospital. Results of the study are expected to be published early in 2019.
“This study has the potential to truly impact outcomes through the use of a simple, inexpensive technique that can be applied either in the emergency department or prehospital [ambulance] care field,” Dr. Sheldon Cheskes, medical director of the Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine, and principal investigator of FIRST.
Dr. Ronald Heslegrave, chief of research and study sponsor at the William Osler Health System, said that “If we obtain the expected result, such as decreased readmissions to hospitals, the autoRIC device could be put into ambulances and emergency rooms across Ontario, which could have a huge impact on the community we serve as well as communities throughout the province.”
Rocky Ganske, CEO of CellAegis, said there are an estimated one million STEMI heart attacks annually in North America and Europe that may benefit from RIC therapy using the autoRIC device.
