Cardiogal develops Non-Invasive Cardiac Hemodynamic (NICHE™) devices and systems for advanced monitoring of cardiac function and hemodynamics. The innovative NICHE™ technology is based on standard Doppler and Tissue Doppler technologies. It uses well validated measurements to assess cardiac function and body fluid status - key components in the evaluation of patients prior to surgery and in the critical care settings. This critical clinical information is now only available with invasive pulmonary artery catheter-based techniques (PAC) or expensive, manually-operated echocardiography machines that cannot be used for continuous cardiac monitoring.

Today, patients recovering from cardiac surgery and those admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU) with heart failure often require hemodynamic monitoring. The standard of care is to use a Swan-Ganz catheter in order to assess fluid status and cardiac function. This information is crucial for determining the clinical treatment.
There are numerous risks associated with central catheters including bleeding, poking, rhythm disturbances and lung damage. Moreover, most catheters must be removed after a day or two due to the risk of infection. Whereas performing measurements is time consuming, cumbersome and requires special training. Due to the relatively high risk of complications, physicians have been keeping away from performing this procedure.

The NICHE™ monitoring system is a non-invasive method to continuously monitor heart function and hemodynamics. Based on a well validated ultrasound technique, the system acquires data from ultrasound transducers that are placed over the anterior chest, similarly to ECG monitor leads now commonly used in intensive care units.
NICHE algorithm measures a set of hemodynamic and cardiac function parameters that are continuously displayed on the system monitor. These clinical parameters are calculated automatically with no need for special trained operators and ultrasound specialists.

Market Potential

The primary target markets are intensive care units and operating rooms in every hospital. In surgical ICU’s the system will be used to monitor postoperative patients. In the medical ICU’s the system will be used to monitor response to treatment of heart failure.
There is a potential for use in other, non-ICU settings, such as general medical floors, emergency rooms, hemodialysis units, cardiac catheterization laboratories, as well as chest pain centers.

Pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) products - despite their limitations, costs and risks, PACs remain the gold standard and the most commonly used technology in critical care.
Minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring and non-invasive cardiac output monitoring (NICOM) products, including: less or minimally invasive catheter-based technologies, esophageal ultrasound, Fick partial rebreathing and bio-impedance (ICG). However, none of these methods is capable of non-invasive assessment of  left ventricular end diastolic pressure.

Yehuda Sharf, Ph.D., MBA, Founder and CEO
Former Vice President R&D and CTO of Barnev Ltd. Dr. Sharf holds a Ph.D. in physics and an MBA from Tel Aviv University, with postdoctorate studies at Harvard University and MIT.
Gilead I Lancaster MD, Co-Founder and Medical Advisor
Dr. Lancaster is the Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology, Associate Director Cardiovascular Fellowship Program, Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT.
An R&D team of hardware and software engineers.

Established in March 2007; started operating within Maayan Ventures since October 2007. The company has demonstrated technological proof of concept and is preparing for clinical trials.