World Health Organization tagged ‘hypertension’ as a “silent killer” that has transformed into a global epidemic, killing approximately 10 million people every year. It is a direct pathway to the biggest killer in man, underscoring heart failure, stroke, and renal diseases. QHeart Medical embarked on its journey with a commitment to altering this scenario with a focus on serving heart and renal diseases globally.
Being honored as the “Innovators of the Year 2024” by The CEO Views, QHeart Medical’s founder, Dr Peter Walsh, recounts the inspiring tale of the company in transforming heart and renal treatment worldwide.
Anecdotes: A Story of QHeart Medical
QHeart Medical was founded in 2020 by a multidisciplinary team of cardiac device professionals. Its journey is a testament to excellence achieved through some chance meetings, shaping its mission and operations along the way.
Dr Peter Walsh met Mr Umesh Goel, a high-ranking CFO in Brisbane, in September 2014 at a business information seminar for Australian and Indian business opportunities. Their relationship later led Umesh Goel to be the founding director and CFO at QHeart.
In 2015, Peter had a chance to meet Dr. Cherian while testing 2 CABG patients with an early SARR device. They collaboratively obtained clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of a passive recoil “pumpless” device in improving the patients’ left coronary artery (LCA) blood flow. The synergic relationship between the two clinical experts facilitated the development of a new, improved SARR device through the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) program.
It is through this same program that Dr. Peter Walsh built a relationship with two leading heart surgeons, Mr. Aubrey Almedia and Professor Julian Smith. Since then, Aubrey and Smith have been involved in testing the SARR device on six patients at Monash Health for an HREC -approved study, finding an improvement of up to 29% in cardiac output. Later, Aubrey joined the QHeart team as the founding Chief Medical Officer and is now working with Peter and Smith on the TARR device under development.
Peter’s encounter with Dr Phil Nowell, a former USA medical device executive, in July 2016 in Brisbane brewed into a strong strategic relationship with QHeart, addressing areas of product clinical indications, target unserved market sectors, and commercialisation planning.
About the Founder
Dr. Peter Walsh followed his interest and passion in the medical field during his undergraduate engineering studies. This passion was further stimulated by working with cardiologists at a major teaching hospital and taking on a cardiovascular research project in his master of applied science post- graduate studies.
With a focus on cardiovascular diseases, Peter pursued a PhD in biomedical engineering at the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), under the guidance of head of school Professor Klaus Schindhelm and University of Sydney physiologist Professor Barry Gow.
While completing his post-doctoral fellowship in Florida, USA, with a leading cardiovascular engineering researcher, Professor James Moore, he continued to work on vascular cellular responses and how stent strut design can impact the regrowth of the endothelial lining of vessels after stenting. Following this, he did another fellowship at UNSW, Department of Surgery, working on aortic compliance research. Now, as the founder of QHeart Medical, Dr Peter Walsh is transforming the way heart and renal dysfunctions are treated.
What Does QHeart Medical Do?
The QHeart team is developing the SARR and TARR products with a vision to improve the quality of life and cost of treatment, specifically for heart failure, kidney disease, and resistant hypertension sufferers.
Resistant Hypertension (RH) and Hypertensive Heart Failure (HHF) are major global health problems with high incidence rates of 20%-33% and 2%-3.5% of the population, respectively. Both the RH and HHF are found to have a huge global cost. In response to this scenario, the company upholds its mission to treat RH and HHF to reduce the high mortality rates within these patient populations.
QHeart Medical Pty Ltd is now commercialising revolutionary low-risk, low-cost aorta treatment therapies for improving heart and renal function for highly unserved hypertensive heart failure and resistant hypertension, including acute heart failure with renal dysfunction. Despite challenges in proving its products, obtaining clinical adoption, capital to progress to market, and a good regulatory approval strategy, QHeart has successfully brought innovation into its service delivery.
The Innovative Aortic Recoil Repair (ARRTM) therapy
QHeart’s Aortic Recoil Repair (ARR) implants treat aortic stiffness and associated hypertension and heart failure. These unique “pumpless” passive implants do not require any control systems. It was validated at Monash Health and The Victorian Heart Hospital with evidence showing a 25% to 29% improvement in cardiac output and a 21% to 41% increase in stroke volume. Principal Investigator at Monash Health, Professor Julian Smith, commented on the study by stating-
“Monash considers these findings a major improvement in cardiac performance and a very strong indication of the benefit of the QHeart implant for heart failure and hypertensive patients.”
The SARRTM and TARRTM Implant
The Surgical Aortic Recoil Repair (SAAR) implant aims to be an ideal adjunct to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) that reduces hypertension during the 90-day post-surgery period. Statistics reveal that the SARR is indicated for 60% (400,000) of almost 700,000 open chest procedures annually in Europe and North America. Additionally, the Transcatheter Aortic Recoil Repair (TAAR) implant provides an ideal short-term therapy for acute heart failure patients during emergencies and is being considered for longer term use. This device is placed inside the thoracic aorta to stabilise and manage heart and renal dysfunctions.
Reaping a Culture of Innovation
- Building a passionate team and culture who are open to challenges in product development and delivery.
- Establishing strong relationships with clinical opinion leaders and health groups to ensure product development is focused on key unserved patient needs.
- Fostering successful relationships with hospital groups and research groups for access to needed resources
- Reviewing literature on research and market news regarding new developments, techniques, and emerging treatments.
- Growing a patent portfolio applicable to QHeart product innovations.
Observing Future Trends and Wise Advice for Future Innovators
Peter believes that the future will see more tissue engineering, gene therapy, and xenotransplantation of organs to offer heart and kidney options for human replacement. He encourages future innovators and entrepreneurs to have an enduring internal fire to help them keep pushing the boundaries to reach the next step. Engaging with experienced industry executives and advisors is also critical in his view. To extend the funding beyond what’s possible, they must effectively manage members, partners, and resources.
QHeart has a very experienced team, each with their own credible track record, fostering a culture dedicated to developing and guiding these products through clinical trials and eventual market launches.
