The spin-off of Parc Taulí and Vall d'Hebron has managed to raise 2.8 million euros of private and public funds, which will allow it to complete the clinical studies necessary to obtain the CE mark and bring this device to market.
This is a unique treatment strategy in the healthcare field, based on non-invasive electrical stimulation to maintain the strength of the respiratory muscles of patients requiring mechanical ventilation support.
The spin-off Tesai Care has launched a clinical study with the heecap device , with the aim of demonstrating the safety of the device they have developed in order to prevent respiratory muscle atrophy in patients who have required mechanical ventilation (MV) upon admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a problem that affects more than 3 million people each year around the world.
The clinical study of the company - a spin-off of the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT) and the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) - is now starting with patients admitted to the Parc Taulí University Hospital, after receiving approval from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) at the end of October.
MV is a life-saving technique for critically ill patients, but it presents a significant challenge: 76% of ventilated patients develop respiratory muscle atrophy due to prolonged disuse of the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles. This weakness makes weaning from ventilation difficult , prolonging ICU stays and delaying recovery.
The heecap device uses Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation of Respiratory Muscles (TERM), synchronizing with the patient's breathing to strengthen the inspiratory and expiratory muscles. This technique seeks to improve muscle strength and facilitate the process of disconnection from mechanical ventilation .
The device consists of three main components: electrodes that are placed on the patient and are individually adapted, an electrical stimulation device , and an algorithm that synchronizes the stimulation with the respiratory cycles. This first clinical study, carried out at Parc Taulí, seeks to confirm that the system is safe and that the algorithm operates accurately.
The heecap device aims to prevent respiratory muscle atrophy in a noninvasive and ventilator-synchronized manner. Currently, there is no device on the market to prevent respiratory muscle atrophy in a noninvasive and ventilator-synchronized manner , and heecap can have a great impact on weaning from mechanical ventilation.
Tesai Care has obtained financing worth 2.77 million euros, combining private and public funds . Among the investors, Nara Capital stands out, along with CDTI-INNVIERTE and the Catalan Institute of Finance .
Laura Lizama, CEO and co-founder of Tesai Care, states that “these funds will allow us to advance the clinical studies necessary to bring heecap to the market, with the aim of requesting the CE marking as a medical device in 2026.” “We are convinced that heecap will be beneficial for ventilated patients, accelerating their recovery, as well as for ICUs, by making resource management more efficient,” Lizama emphasizes.