Ohio Doctor Gets Federal Funding to Develop Device that Helps Reverse Effects of Stroke

According to an article in the Springfield News-Sun (Ohio) newspaper, RAM Medical Innovations and its founder, Mubin Syed, MD, will be receiving approximately $1.7 million in federal funding to create a device that will help reverse the effects of a stroke by restoring blood flow to the brains of stroke victims. The funding is from a grant awarded by the National Institute of Health's Small Business Innovation and Research Program, which is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Syed told the Springfield News-Sun that the device is similar to dental floss in how it works. It can be pulled and pushed into place to provide access to the brain for patients that are having a stroke. He adds that the device provides access to the brain so blockages can be disrupted in order to restore blood flow back to the brain.

"It is not a device that actually reverses strokes. It gets you there so that you can reverse the stroke reliably and quickly especially in difficult anatomy," Syed, an interventional radiologist and neuro radiologist who practices in the Springfield and Dayton areas, told the newspaper.

To help develop the technology, Dr. Syed worked with a biomedical engineer and Silicon Valley based Band of Angels, a top angel investor group. He is also collaborating with Dr. Azim Shaikh, the CEO of Riverview Health Institute in Dayton, as well as Wright State University graduate student Feras Deek.

The grant will be used for research and creating prototypes with the goal to have the device available in the next two years.