Dutch medtech company AMT Medical has raised $25 million in Series B funding to accelerate the development of its revolutionary ELANA Heart Bypass System. This sutureless technology for coronary bypass surgery eliminates the need for open-heart surgery and opens the door to minimally invasive and even robot-assisted procedures.
AMT's technology uses a proprietary clip and excimer laser to connect blood vessels without sutures. The procedure can take place on a beating heart, without a heart-lung machine, drastically reducing the risk of complications and speeding up recovery. The system can reduce the cost of bypass surgery by more than half. ‘This is not a small adaptation, but a revolutionary change,’ says CEO Rutger Tulleken.
Elana Heart Bypass system
AMT Medical's Elana Heart Bypass technology introduces an innovative approach to bypass surgery, aimed at reducing invasiveness and speeding up recovery. Instead of traditional open-heart surgery with a heart-lung machine, Elana uses a small clip and an excimer laser to connect a donor vessel to a blocked coronary artery. This method eliminates the need for sutures and allows surgeons to perform the procedure on a beating heart through small incisions in the chest.
The result is a standardised and reproducible technique that reduces the risk of complications such as infections and strokes. Patients experience a shorter recovery time and can often return home within days of surgery. Moreover, Elana technology paves the way for future fully endoscopic and robot-assisted bypass procedures, representing a significant advance in cardiovascular care. The video below demonstrates and explains the technology:
First clinical trials
Initial trials in 10 patients showed no cases of serious complications. A follow-up study with 65 patients is currently ongoing, with CE marking as a goal in 2026 ‘Our technology even enables robot-assisted keyhole surgery’. UMC Utrecht and the German Charité hospital are involved in the validation.
Reducing complications after cardiac surgery is an important development. Last year, for example, the Digital Cardiac Counselling study by Maastricht UMC+ showed that the risk of serious complications is reduced when patients are made physically and mentally stronger prior to their surgery. That training can be done through a tailor-made, online programme.
The new investment round was led by Bender Analytical Holding (BAH), with participation from Invest-NL, the European Innovation Council (EIC), Oost NL and informal investors. The capital will be used for CE marking, initial clinical trials in Europe and the US, and preparation for robotic surgery. CEO Rutger Tulleken stresses, ‘We aim for a future without open-heart surgery - with better outcomes, lower costs and faster rehabilitation.’ AMT Medical is ISO 13485-certified, holds more than 40 patents, and collaborates with leading institutions such as St Antonius Hospital and Charité Berlin.
