Lifesaving products are Roseville firm's lifeblood

In the 15 years since Advanced Circulatory Systems Inc. was founded, its medical devices have become one of the first things paramedics across the country reach for when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest -- as well as promising rescue equipment for the military.

Not bad for a privately held Roseville firm that got its start trying to find ways to make CPR work better in saving lives.

Since debuting ResQPod in the United States in 2005, ACSI has developed a steady stream of devices designed to maximize lifesaving treatments, improve circulation, increase low blood pressure and, most recently, to boost the survivability of troops wounded in combat. On May 3, the company won an innovation award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a U.S. Army achievement award for research and innovation.

The company, which was founded in 1997, has raised about $9 million over the years in private capital. But much of ACSI's funding to develop its technology -- about $17 million -- has come from federal grants.

"The return on investment they're looking for is public health," said CEO Mike Black.

Many of ACSI's devices seem to be simplicity defined, with no bells or whistles or complicated machinery. Many of the devices are powered by a patient's own breathing -- "human-powered," Black said.

The ResQPod is a small plastic cylinder placed over an oxygen mask or tube that prevents unnecessary air from entering the chest during CPR. Used on patients who have suffered sudden cardiac arrest, the device creates a vacuum in the chest cavity that makes CPR more effective because it allows for greater blood flow in and out of the heart with each chest compression.

"We use ResQPod on every cardiac arrest," said Dr. Charles Lick, medical director for Allina Ambulance. "It's fascinating physiology that these guys have figured out."

Used in combination with other devices and best practices, Lick said, ResQPod has contributed to a more-than-doubling of the survival rate for people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest -- from 8.5 percent to 19 percent.

Lick said his ambulance crews also use ResQGard, a mask that fits over a patient's face and creates resistance with each breath. The result is an increase in blood pressure, again, allowing for better flow of oxygenated blood at critical times.

Black said the U.S. Department of Defense helped fund the device, which is also available in U.S. Army medical kits.

"It buys time to get IVs in or to do other interventions," Lick said of the device's 20-30-point increase in patients' systolic blood pressure.

ResQPump is sold in Europe, but not the United States. Brown said the company has received an expedited review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

ResQVent, which is designed for use on the battlefield and during the transport of soldiers with traumatic brain injuries, also has not yet won market approval for the United States.

"We are shooting for regulatory approval by the first quarter of next year," said Anja Kohler Metzger, ACSI's vice president of research and development.

Along the way toward making CPR more effective in getting blood moving in the body, the folks at ACSI have learned that their devices may also help reduce pressure around the brain in patients who have suffered trauma. By pulling blood into the chest, the devices reduce pressure within the cranium -- allowing more blood flow to the brain.

Thanks to support from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, ACSI was able to sustain the development and testing of its technology over the past several years without a flood of private capital, Black said. He said the company has moved beyond the developmental stage and is earning money. He added, however, that plans are in place soon "for a more accelerated approach to the marketplace."