Juliette Steffensen
Co-Founder & CEO
Regulatory & IP
Complex aortic repair
Building complex aortic repairs faster.
Physician-modified endografts let surgeons treat aneurysms that standard devices can't. Every one is still mapped, measured, and built by hand. We're changing that.
See the problemThe problem
The repair exists. Access doesn't.
THE ANATOMY
Too close to the branches.
Some aortic aneurysms sit so close to the arteries feeding the kidneys and stomach that a standard stent-graft would block them.
THE WORKAROUND
Built by hand in the OR.
Surgeons modify an off-the-shelf graft on the back table, cutting openings that line up with each patient's arteries. It works. It's also slow, hard to teach, and different every time.
THE COST
Fewer surgeons, fewer options.
Because the process is so demanding, many surgeons can't offer it. Patients are left with high-risk open surgery, or no repair at all.
81%
Mortality once an aneurysm ruptures1
Repairing it before rupture is the whole game.
2:1
Physician-modified grafts vs. the commercial fenestrated device2
567 to 256 in the 2021 national registry. Surgeons are already choosing the hand-built option.
~2 hrs
To modify one four-fenestration graft3
121 ± 18 minutes on the back table, before any of the anatomy mapping and planning.
- 1Guirguis-Blake JM, et al. Primary care screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm. JAMA. 2019;322:2219–2238 ↗
- 2O'Donnell TFX, et al. National trends in utilization of surgeon-modified grafts for complex and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. J Vasc Surg. 2024;79:1276–1284 ↗
- 3Piazza M, et al. Standardized approach for four-fenestrated physician-modified endograft. J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. 2024;10:101491 ↗
Our goal
From ~6 hours
to under 1.
We're developing tools that make physician-modified endograft preparation faster, more standardized, and easier to learn, so more surgeons can offer this repair to more patients.
"Today" reflects case observation at one center. "Goal" is our development target, and not a performance claim.
Faster
Less time planning and preparing the graft.
Standardized
One repeatable method instead of one per surgeon.
Uncompromised
Speed can't come at the cost of technical success.
Our team
Five founders finding a solution.
Get this repair to every patient who needs it.
Karl Shroff
Co-Founder
Technical & Engineering Lead
Eva Aguirre
Co-Founder
Testing & Verification Lead
Sarah Asher
Co-Founder
Device Development Lead
Justin McParland
Co-Founder
Funding & Customer Insights Lead
Developed through the NC State / UNC MedTech Innovation & Entrepreneurship program.
Contact
Let's talk.
Surgeons, industry partners, and investors: we want to hear from you.
Contact email coming soon