Vesalius Cardiovascular Awarded the 2019 Innovators' Challenge by VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation

Vesalius Cardiovascular takes home the 2019 Innovators' Challenge presented by the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation, winning the top prize of $300,000. Led by Dr. Peter Skarsgard, Vesalius Cardiovascular has made tremendous advancements in mitral regurgitation technology through their implanted medical device that is delivered to the heart percutaneously (through a vein in the leg). Based on proven surgical concepts, their device drastically reduces patient recovery time from 2 to 3 months, to 2 to 3 days, allowing patients to return to their normal routine and activities while also reducing costs for the medical system.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common heart valve disease affecting 5% of Western populations. Of this group, 20% require treatment which, before now, was open heart surgery. Due to the associated risks, many patients were ineligible for surgery and as such were left with their needs unmet. Vesalius Cardiovascular helps to avoid these risks and offers an option to patients through their device providing the benefit of surgery without the risk of surgery.

Read more about Vesalius Cardiovascular here.