Adona Medical Achieves First Human Use of Adjustable Heart Shunt

Adona Medical's interatrial shunt debuts in heart failure patients, showing potential for customizable treatment options.
First human trials were conducted in Georgia by Dr. George Khabeishvili, with U.S. experts providing additional support.
The device offers adjustable blood flow and real-time pressure monitoring, promising personalized, long-term heart failure management.

Adona Medical, a Shifamed portfolio company specializing in advanced heart failure treatments, recently achieved a key milestone with the first-in-human use of its interatrial shunt device in Georgia. This adjustable shunt, aimed at improving the quality of life for heart failure patients, was implanted by Dr. George Khabeishvili at Tbilisi Heart and Vascular Clinic.

The procedure received support from U.S. heart failure specialists Dr. Gagan Singh and Dr. Edris Aman. Dr. Singh, who directs the Clinical Cardiovascular Research Unit at the University of California, Davis, praised the device’s potential.

“This implant marks a significant advancement in shunt technology, allowing adjustable interatrial flow based on each patient’s unique needs. Heart failure management is a lifelong process, and the ability to modify shunt size combined with real-time pressure monitoring could represent a major step forward in treatment,” Singh noted.

The Adona device offers a unique approach to heart failure therapy. Unlike current fixed-geometry shunts, this device features an adjustable flow channel, allowing physicians to modify blood flow post-implantation using a specialized catheter. This flexibility could lead to more personalized treatment plans, tailoring therapy to each patient's evolving condition. Additionally, the device integrates sensors that monitor left and right atrial pressure throughout the day, providing doctors with real-time data that could enhance medical decision-making without requiring active input from patients.

The successful procedures underscore Adona Medical’s commitment to addressing the challenges in heart failure management. CEO Brian Fahey remarked that this milestone is a promising step toward validating the device's benefits for patients who often face limited treatment options.

"The entire team has worked tirelessly to bring this technology to life, and I’m grateful to our clinical partners for their insights," Fahey added.

Adona Medical, based in Silicon Valley, operates under the Shifamed innovation hub, which was founded by entrepreneur Amr Salahieh. Both Adona and Shifamed focus on developing advanced medical solutions, though the Adona shunt remains an investigational device and is not yet approved for broader use.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah