The Technology

The Graft-Loc technology is the recipient of the Cleveland Clinic Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center Third Frontier Award recognized as a revolutionary technology for the advancement of cardiac surgery.

The heart of its capability lies in the unusual configurations of the connector made possible by the super-elastic and shape memory properties of NiTiNOL. This creative design has solved many of the most difficult challenges of mechanically facilitated vascular anastomosis with an elegant flip and a twist.

Graft-Loc manipulates this material in a way no other NiTiNOL device has before by incorporating the surgical thinking and techniques that have developed over the last century into a mechanical connector. It utilizes spring tensioned fingers to penetrate the tissue with the same method as a needle and thread. With the fingers securely embedded in the tissue it pulls the two vessels together while returning to its relaxed state. The resulting connection minimizes the presence of foreign material in the inner lumin of the artery. Additionally, the Graft-Loc does not pinch the tissue, thus eliminating the ischemia associated with poor tissue perfusion.