At a time when smaller, private med tech firms are struggling to get products approved, or to win insurance reimbursement -- or to turn a profit -- Jerry Mattys of Tactile Systems Technology wants folks to know that his northeast Minneapolis company is doing just fine.
In fact, the maker of Flexitouch, a system that allows patients to treat debilitating lymphedema at home, recently secured $10.4 million in new financing to expand its business to address other chronic swelling conditions and launch international sales. And Affordable Care Act or no Affordable Care Act, Mattys said he expects the good news to continue.
"We are well-situated for the new health care law -- or not," he said from the beautifully renovated former ironworks that Tactile Systems occupies. "Keeping people out of the hospital, which is stressed under the new health care law, is a goal for us."
How it works
Flexitouch is essentially a system of large, air bladder-filled sleeves that fit over a patient's arms, legs and torso. An air compressor fills and empties the bladders to mimic a massage to help people suffering from lymphedema -- a painful swelling from lymphatic fluid that often follows cancer surgery. The permanent condition affects up to 1 million adults nationwide.
Before a lymphedema therapist invented the system in 1995, effective treatment options for many patients were limited to frequent hospital visits, Mattys said. Now, while patients still work with therapists and visit lymphedema clinics, the system allows people to lead much more active lives.
Suzanne is a Twin Cities magician who often travels to California's Magic Castle to perform. The 2010 Closeup Magician of the Year, who got lymphedema in early 2000 after cancer treatment, said the system allows her to work, to fly for hours on an airplane, to ride horses and go bowling with her son.
"This enables me to live a pretty normal life," said the performer, who asked that her last name not be used. "It allows me to be a normal person."