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Octin Health
Surgeon Driven. Outcome Oriented.
Clinical Need
An aortic aneurysm occurs when a portion of the aorta—the body's main artery—becomes enlarged and weakened, resembling a balloon that's been overinflated.
Current clinical guidelines recommend offering a preventative operation when the size of the aorta reaches 5 cm.
If left untreated, the aneurysm can continue to grow, increasing the risk of an aortic dissection, a life-threatening condition where the inner layer of the aortic wall tears. This allows blood to flow between the layers of the artery wall, limiting circulation to critical organs such as the heart and brain.
Aortic dissections are medical emergencies with an extremely high mortality rate: aortic dissections have an 80% out of hospital mortality. Even among those who make it to surgery, the in-hospital mortality rate remains between 20–25%. Even after discharge, only half of patients survive beyond 10 years.
Aortic surgery is among the most complex and high-risk procedures in cardiac surgery, with national data showing a 9% operative mortality. Due to this significant risk, many patients are hesitant to undergo preventative surgery and surgeons are cautious about recommending the procedure, highlighting the need for innovation.
Surgeons need a tool that will enable them to make patient outcomes better in this deadly disease.
At Octin Health, Inc. we are redefining aortic arch surgery.
Founded by a practicing cardiovascular surgeon, we recognize that the current operative technique requires disruption. Today's standard approach often involves deep hypothermic circulatory arrest—a method that cools the patient's body to reduce metabolic demand, followed by a complete halt of blood circulation. This technique has not seen meaningful advancement since its introduction in 1952.
Unlike other well-known cardiovascular diseases, aortic aneurysms and dissections remain under-recognized by the public. This presents a unique opportunity—not only to innovate in how we treat these conditions, but also to raise awareness and improve patient outcomes through education and innovation.
The Elika Device
The only solution that is specifically designed to enable surgeons to do the necessary operation in a patient without the high physiologic price of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Our technology empowers surgeons to perform safer procedures that address the current operative risk.
The Elika Device is entering the formal development stage and is not yet FDA cleared.
Team
Meghana Helder, MD
Chief Executive Officer / Founder
Dr. Meghana Helder is a Mayo Clinic trained cardiovascular surgeon. During her time at Mayo, she was awarded the Nygaard and Inlow and Balfour awards distinguishing herself as an innovator. She also spent two years dedicated to translational cardiovascular and biomedical engineering research at Mayo, has over 26 publications, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery as well as a Feature Editor for Seminars of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Her passion for excellence in healthcare shines as she leads Octin Health, Inc. through the perpetually progressing medical device industry.
Laura Walter
Chief of Operations
Laura began her career diving into compliance in Boston Scientific and then transitioned to the financial sector in the information technology space working on multi-divisional projects. She jumped back into Medtech given her passion for bringing innovative solutions to healthcare. She is a master at organizational efficiency and efficacy as well as building relationships.
Jason Hepfler
Chief Strategy Officer
Jason is a 30 year veteran in the cardiovascular market. Jason has experience not only bringing new devices to market but also initiating change in procedures and evolving treatment strategies; enabling more patients to be treated while improving outcomes.
Jason has launched several paradigm shifting therapies with both fortune 100 companies as well as small start-up companies. While at Guidant he helped launch Op-Cab, MIS Saphenous Vein Harvesting and EVAR. Then with Gore Medical he helped launch TEVAR before going to Medtronic and launching TAVR. After that Jason was the VP of sales for N America for OpSens/Haemonetics working with procedure enabling devices.
Jason is the current Vice President of Field Operations for Xdot Medical, a revolutionary Suture based large bore closure device. Jason also is a managing partner for Keystone Ventures Capital. KVC invests in early-stage start-ups in Cardiovascular projects and now has agreed to come on our small team and run our corporate Strategy.
Adam Tschida
Chief Technical Officer
Adam is a seasoned leader with extensive experience guiding companies from concept to commercialization. He joins Octin Health from Crossfire Medical, where he has served as both COO and CTO since 2022. Previously, he held strategic roles in R&D and Operations at VentureMed Group, Philips, Spectranetics, Covidien, and ev3.
Advisors
Dr. Szeto is the current Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at UPenn. He is widely considered a worldwide aortic expert and consults with major strategics in this space. He is also the acting Secretary of the Society of Thoracic Surgery.
Alex has extensive experience in the medical device field, including 26 years at Medtronic in leadership roles in Global Health Economics, Policy, and Reimbursement. Her background in emergency departments, where she witnessed the effects of aortic disease firsthand, adds a valuable perspective to her expertise. Additionally, her time in the US Senate demonstrates a broad understanding of healthcare policy.
With over 40 years of leadership in healthcare and medical technology, Mr. Ward most recently held key roles, including CEO of Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. before its acquisition by Abbott, and nearly 30 years at Medtronic, where he led the Cardiovascular, Neurological, and Diabetes businesses, driving transformative growth. Beyond his executive career, Mr. Ward has served on over 15 public and private company boards, chairs the Philanthropy Board at Gillette Children’s Hospital.
Chris has over 30 years of financial experience, with 25 of those years spent at Medtronic. Part of his time at Medtronic included work as the CFO of the Aortic Business Unit. He recently joined HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology as their CFO.
Chris's LinkedIn Profile →
Wilson Szeto
Alexandra Clyde
Scott Ward