Company Purpose

Revolutionize the treatment of pectus excavatum by:

  1. Minimizing the number of patients who receive ANY opioids during their treatment

  2. Minimizing long-term nerve damage associated with pectus repair

  3. Increasing the availability of pectus repair to broader patient demographics (older adults)

BACKGROUND

1 IN 500 births will have pectus excavatum, the most common chest wall deformity, that results in a “caved in” appearance.

  • Diminished heart and lung function

  • Shortness of breath, exercise intolerance

  • Chronic chest pain

  • Risk of cardiac and respiratory complications

Physical Issues

Psychological and Social Issues

  • Body image concerns

  • Social anxiety and depression

CURRENT PRACTICE

The ‘Nuss Procedure’ is a painful procedure that results in the immediate correction of the chest wall indentation.

  1. A crane forcibly repositions the patient’s sternum into a ‘normal’ position.

  2. A retaining bar is inserted into the chest and left for over 3 years while the body heals

Imagine orthodontic braces, but all the teeth are ‘yanked’ into the correct position on the first visit.

THE PROBLEM

“Imagine our predicament: Do we subject our child to the most pain he’s ever experienced, or do we risk a life of fatigue and body-image issues?”

- Parent of a teenager with pectus excavatum.

  • Opioid use in drug-naive children increases the likelihood of opioid dependence

  • Rapid correction in older patients leads to myriad complications such as fractured ribs and cardiopulmonary compression

  • Cryoablation (freezing) of the intercostal nerves leads to unacceptable risk levels of permanent nerve damage

OUR SOLUTION

An origami-inspired implanted device that slowly expands the chest wall.

As with the gradual correction of malpositioned teeth in orthodontics, Tensai’s device will significantly reduce the pain associated with pectus correction procedures 

The Tensai device will remain implanted for 2-3 years. During that time, surgeons can employ an external activator to deploy and expand the bar to various degrees to gradually advance the correction.

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