Applied Sciences Group, Inc.

Ethox International, a medical device maker based in Buffalo, has contracted to help develop and manufacture a non-invasive heart monitoring system invented at the University at Buffalo.

Scivanta Medical Corp. of Spring Lake, N.J., contracted with Ethox to develop the catheter portion of the system, in return for manufacturing rights.

In addition, Applied Sciences Group Inc. in Cheektowaga will provide software engineering for the device's electronics under a Scivanta contract worth up to $400,000.

A cardiac monitor measures the strength of the heartbeat and blood flow volume in patients.

The development work is supported by an award up to $750,000 from the state Office of Science Technology and Academic Research.

Scivanta licensed the technology from UB, where Dr. Donald Hickey and partner Dr. Clas E. Lundgren invented a monitoring system that is inserted in the esophagus, instead of through patients' blood vessels.

"This is the genius of Dr. Hickey -- he said "is there a better way -- how else could we do it," " Scivanta Chief Executive Officer David LaVance said.

The device takes advantage of the stomach's proximity to the heart, he said. A catheter with two balloon--like sensors is inserted beside the heart to monitor its strength.

If approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the "Hickey Cardiac Monitoring System" will provide an alternative to standard monitors that require a doctor to implant, Scivanta said.

It would join other non-invasive monitors on the market, such as one from CardioDynamics of San Diego, that measures changes in electrical current passing through the chest. CardioDynamics says it has sold 7,330 of the devices to date.

The Hickey monitor could launch sales in about a year if trials demonstrate its safety and effectiveness to the FDA, LaVance said.

Ethox may add to its 200 employees in Buffalo because of the product, president Thomas Bienias said. The company makes disposable medical wares and provides lab services for life science industries.

Low-tech manufacturing continues to move offshore, Bienias said, but the addition of new products increases the skilled and professional work force at the company's Buffalo plant and headquarters.

The monitor equipment will cost less than $10,000 and the disposable catheter about $600 per patient, LaVance said.

The market for standard cardiac monitoring is more than 1 million procedures a year, a figure that non-invasive technology could greatly expand because of its ability to be performed outside of intensive care units, he said.

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