Dr. Henry Halperin kicked off the first part of a faculty discussion series hosted by the newly founded Hopkins Medical Device Network (HMDN) on Feb. 28.
Halperin, a cardioelectrophysiologist in the Departments of Medicine and Radiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, gave a short lecture on his cutting-edge development.
Halperin then opened the room up to discussion among graduate and undergraduate students, answering questions ranging from the new device he and his team are developing to the business side of developing a new medical device.
Halperin's research concerns MRI-guided radio frequency ablation. An ablation is a surgical excision of a body part or tissue.
Halperin is working on ablating part of the heart where an arrhythmia is present. Partial destruction of the heart with his new device can cure arrhythmias that may become life-limiting and even fatal in some cases.
An arrhythmia, like atrial fibrillation, is a result of coronary artery disease. Arrhythmias causes 5,000 strokes per year, and there are currently two million patients receiving care for it. With another, more serious type of arrhythmia, called ventricular tachycardia, patients die on the spot.
What Halperin and his team have developed special catheters through which an electric current can be applied. The catheters are MRI-compatible electrode catheters.
These are essentially standard catheters, but they have been modified to remove magnetic materials.
Through the catheter tips, a radiofrequency is applied for a certain amount of time that destroys the arrhythmic part of the heart.
The catheter can be manually manipulated and an MRI machine can be used to guide catheter navigation.
Does this damage the heart? Sure, but not as much as an arrhythmia could; and it's surely better than death in the case of some patients with fatal arrhythmias.
The cost would be similar to an X-ray system, and the potential marketable value for this new device is very promising. An estimated $2 billion will come from patients (four million patients times $500 per catheter use). An additional $300 million dollars a year may also come from new arrhythmic cases, not to mention the added revenue from MRI-compatible generators and interfaces, MRI-compatible supplies and imaging software.
When Halperin began the discussion, many students were interested not just in the new device itself, but in the process of founding an organization, obtaining enough money to develop a device and obtaining a patent.
There seems to be a fair amount of trouble not in acquiring money for the development of a new device, but rather in finding an adequate and adept management team and patent lawyer.
The problem, especially at Hopkins, seems to be that when dealing with such specialized technologies, it's hard for many to understand the particular market as well as the principles of business.
Many of the questions from students were business-related, highlighting the goals of HMDN.
HMDN was founded just last semester with the goal of encouraging students to learn about the world of designing medical devices with both science and business aspects in mind.
Joe Xue, a junior BME and electrical engineering major, said he "learned a lot of MRI and electrophysiology specifically in a class," and he gained "lots of insight into these things" from the lecture.
Xue added, "The business side was really cool. You never hear about doctors or professors speaking of funding or their problems."
Richard J.S. Choi, on the board of HMDN and a senior BME major, says "What we're trying to do is to encourage and organize students to churn out ideas related to the medical world. We want to relate what's lacking to students."
And, indeed, the organization is moving right along with an upcoming mixer in March. There will also be a meeting of faculty, undergraduates and graduate students to generate and present new ideas on April 6.
It also includes advisor and faculty teams, all in the hopes of furthering the organization and making students more aware to the world of designing medical devices.
Brain Liau, a senior BME major, called the first of these faculty discussions an "eye-opener." "It opens your eyes to the possibilities of what you could be doing."
Liau added, "It's educational to listen to someone in charge of a start-up [organization] and to learn about the technical difficulties. We as engineers don't really know what to expect."
HMDN certainly seems to be off to a successful start. The program creators are encouraging any students interested to attend coming lectures in the series.
Interested students can contact the board at hmdn@jhu.edu or visit their Web site at http://www.hmdn.org.
