RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Durham-based 410 Medical has launched a new and improved version of LifeFlow, its medical device for treating life-threatening low blood pressure, shock and sepsis in critically ill patients.

The new version, LifeFlow Next Gen, has two new features that will allow faster and simpler fluid delivery by health care providers, the company said in a news release.

410 Medical

“The addition of these important new features further enhances LifeFlow as the most effective tool for delivering a rapid fluid bolus,” said Kyle Chenet, chief executive officer. “At 410 our mission is to help paramedics, nurses and physicians provide the best possible care to their critically ill patients.”

LifeFlow is a hand-operated infuser that combines a syringe, automatic check valve and high-flow tubing set. It was designed to help a single caregiver inject resuscitating fluids quickly and easily with less stress in emergency situations.

The new version of LifeFlow has a feature that smooths and increases fluid flow and another feature that helps with the priming and setup process and stops fluid flow if air is detected in the system.

LifeFlow, developed by physician Mark Piehl at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, is 410 Medical’s first product. It received clearance for human use in 2016 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

After the device’s approval, WakeMed began using LifeFlow throughout its hospitals. The device is used frequently to treat patients with septic shock, trauma and other emergency conditions related to dangerously low blood pressure that can quickly lead to organ failure or death if not treated quickly.

410 Medical nabs $3.1M in new financing for LifeFlow device (plus video)

LifeFlow is faster, easier and more efficient than traditional methods of fluid delivery including gravity infusion, IV infusion pumps, pressure bags and manual syringes, 410 says on its website. The device can be readied for use in less than two minutes, can be operated by one hand and can deliver precise amounts of fluid with each squeeze of the handle.

The device, intended for single-patient use, is being manufactured in-state by Robling Medical of Youngsville.

410 Medical is a North Carolina State University spinout founded by Piehl and venture capitalist Luke Roush in 2013 to develop innovative products to help emergency clinicians provide better care for critically ill patients. Piehl, who is 410’s chief medical officer, is a pediatric intensivist at WakeMed, where he was medical director of WakeMed Children’s Hospital from 2009 to 2015.

In 2016 the North Carolina Biotechnology Center gave a thumbs-up to the company’s application for a $250,000 Small Business Research Loan, but the company subsequently decided to proceed with other funding.

410 Medical raised $3.1 million in financing in 2018 to commercialize LifeFlow. North Carolina investors in the funding round included WakeMed Health & Hospitals and the North Carolina Venture Capital Multiplier Fund, managed by Durham-based Hatteras Venture Partners.

410 Medical takes its name from the calculation of fluid-delivery goals in pediatric septic shock (four boluses every 10 minutes = 410).

The company has 15 employees.

(C) N.C. Biotech Center