# Post Cardiac Surgery Hemodynamics Diagnostic Device

> **NIH NIH R44** · BRIDGESOURCE MEDICAL CORPORATION · 2022 · $740,251

## Abstract

Abstract
Coronary arterial bypass graft (CABG) and valve replacements are open-heart surgeries that
are performed on 400,000 Americans each year. The average age of cardiac surgery patients is
early 60s, with 52% over the age of 65, and 8% over the age of 80. Octogenarians are
increasingly being referred for cardiac surgery, because the aging population is increasing
rapidly, and they still benefit enough from CABG to improve long term survival despite higher
risk. However, they also have longer post-operative stays in ICU and hospital, and higher rates
of ICU readmission. Unexplained hypotension in this population is of particular concern during
recovery, because although pressures are routinely measured continuously, discrimination
between proper treatment courses requires an additional measure of heart volumes. The
previous standard for volume management (a partially implanted Pulmonary Artery Catheter, or
PAC) is now considered too risky for prophylactic implantation due to the added risks of another
invasive procedure, infection, lack of evidence that it changes outcomes. Without information on
volume status, multiple day recovery with only minimal bedside hospital staff present makes the
proper diagnosis and rapid treatment of unexplained hypotension tricky. In the older cardiac
surgery patient, age-related modifications in cardiac morphology result in decreased contractile
reserve, reduced compliance, and blunted inotropic response. This leads to hypotensive
situations where the proper diagnosis of cardiac damage or weakness can be confused with low
volume status (hypovolemia) and reduced vessel compliance requiring exploratory surgery. All
unsure staff in this situation prudently call for an echo, the resident fellow, or other available
cardiovascular specialists to infer what the volume is while the patient’s hypotensive state
persists, increasing risk. BSM proposes to modify the ubiquitously placed pericardial drain to
discriminate among these two states without a PAC, by using a novel, clinically-validated
volume measurement, empowering staff to take the proper clinical course of action quickly to
stabilize elderly patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10453483
- **Project number:** 4R44EB030973-02
- **Recipient organization:** BRIDGESOURCE MEDICAL CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Anil Kottam
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $740,251
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10453483

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10453483, Post Cardiac Surgery Hemodynamics Diagnostic Device (4R44EB030973-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10453483. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*