About

Vesalius Cardiovascular Inc. is a Preclinical Medical Device Company

We operate in the structural heart space and are developing a Transfemoral Mitral Valve Repair (TMVr) solution for a very common heart valve disease – Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation.

About Vesalius Cardiovascular Inc.

Our TMVr solution uses pre-established surgical techniques (transfemoral-transseptal delivery, annuloplasty, and chordal replacement). Our device reproduces these proven surgical results without the need to undergo surgery.

Our solution eliminates the burden associated with surgery and allows treatment to be available to almost all patients suffering from the underlying disease.

We are based in Vancouver, Canada.

Our Teams

The Management Team

Peter Skarsgard, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Skarsgard is a Cardiovascular Surgeon and Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of British Columbia, and Head of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at Vancouver General Hospital. His area of expertise is mitral valve repair and complex valvular surgery. Based upon a simple clinical observation, Dr. Skarsgard developed and patented concepts for devices aimed toward percutaneous treatment of mitral regurgitation, utilizing proven surgical principles. These ideas form the basis for Calla and Orion.

Vincent Ledoux, MSc

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Ledoux is a Business Specialist with over 23 years experience in Investment Banking, Corporate Management and Startups. During his tenure at BNP Paribas, the largest bank in Europe, he successfully held several roles internationally and completed the prestigious General Inspection program within the group. Since 2009, he has been deeply involved in Canadian engineering and medical device startups. Vincent holds an MSc in Business Management from EMLyon Business School. Vincent manages the day-to-day activities and coordinates the R&D.

Ryan Harrington, MEng

Director of Engineering

Mr. Harrington is a Mechanical Engineer with over 8 years experience in engineering design and development, with a primary focus on cardiovascular implants. He was one of the first engineers to join Vesalius and grew with the company to lead the current team of 8 handpicked biomedical engineers. Ryan holds a Master of Engineering degree from University College Dublin in Ireland. He is responsible for all engineering aspects of the device development and regulatory affairs.

The Clinical Team

Dr. Robert Boone, MD

Interventional Cardiologist

Dr. Boone is an Interventional Cardiologist at St. Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, and Clinical Associate Professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. He leads the Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Programs at the Centre for Heart Valve Innovation at UBC and is a researcher at the Center for Cardiovascular Innovation. He has had early clinical / first in human involvement with a number of transcatheter valve therapies (Pascal, Evoque, SM3, LuX, and Tiara), and is a recognized national key opinion leader in this area.

Peter Skarsgard, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Skarsgard is a Cardiovascular Surgeon and Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of British Columbia, and Head of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at Vancouver General Hospital. His area of expertise is mitral valve repair and complex valvular surgery. Based upon a simple clinical observation, Dr. Skarsgard developed and patented concepts for devices aimed toward percutaneous treatment of mitral regurgitation, utilizing proven surgical principles. These ideas form the basis for Calla and Orion.

Dr. Christopher Durkin, MD

Anaesthesiologist/Echocardiographer

Dr. Durkin is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Anaesthesiology at the University of British Columbia, and a member of the Section of Cardiovascular Anaesthesiology at Vancouver General Hospital. In addition to expertise in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology, he holds National Board of Echocardiography Certification in Advanced Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography, and is an expert in 3D echo for intracardiac structural disease and procedures. Dr. Durkin brings critical inputs in 3D echo imaging, both procedurally and in planning, to Vesalius Cardiovascular.

The Engineering Team

Vesalius Roadmap

  • 2017

    Start of engineering

  • 2018

    Start of in-vivo

  • 2019

    Start of QMS

  • 2020

    1st chronic in-vivo
  • 2021

    1st FDA meeting
  • 2022

    Frozen device

  • 2023

    GLP in-vivo study

  • 2024

    First-in-human approval