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Aortica Corporation Strengthens Executive TeamAortica™ Corporation, an early stage privately held company focused on the development of innovative treatments for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), today announced that Shannon Eubanks has joined the company as Vice President of Operations. Ms. Eubanks brings 20 years of engineering experience in the medical device industry to the company and will be primarily responsible for leading the development of the company's AortaFit™ System and its STARNES™ Patient Match Technology™. "Shannon brings tremendous engineering skills to Aortica, but what truly sets her apart is her focus on understanding our customers and the clinical needs they face," said Aortica President & CEO Tom Douthitt. "Throughout her career, Shannon has established a strong track record for transforming her understanding of customer requirements into effective medical devices. It is this customer focus that will enable Aortica to provide physicians with high quality, easy to use tools that will assist them in managing complex AAA procedures. At the same time, her breadth of experience in both manufacturing and quality assurance gives us the operational expertise to strengthen the framework of our company. I couldn't be more pleased to have Shannon join the Aortica team." Ms. Eubanks joins Aortica from Magnolia Medical Technologies where she was responsible for new product development, quality systems, and product manufacturing. Previously Ms. Eubanks directed engineering for Pathway Medical from the early "start-up" years through its successful acquisition by Bayer Interventional. Prior to joining Pathway Medical, Ms. Eubanks managed product development engineering at Sonosite Inc., a manufacturer of handheld ultrasound systems. "I was drawn to Aortica by its efforts to treat eery patient as an 'individual' rather than developing a 'one size fits all' approach," said Ms. Eubanks. "We are designing the AortaFit System to provide a treatment option that is personalized to each patient with AAA disease, while minimizing the burden of up-front planning and expense borne by the physician and the institution." She added, "AortaFit will be powered by a predictive software we are developing called the STARNES Patient Match Technology, based on the work of Dr. Benjamin Starnes, who is renowned for his expertise in this area. Development of these technologies provides both an exciting personal challenge, and an opportunity to deliver a revolutionary medical therapy." About Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Disease Each year between 150,000 and 180,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). An aneurysm is a large bulge in the aorta (the largest artery in the human body). It can gradually expand over time-without any symptoms-until it bursts, causing massive internal bleeding that results in death if not treated at a specialized center immediately. For years major open surgery was the only treatment option, which is risky due to its complicated nature and because it carries a 3.0% mortality rate within 30 days of surgery. About Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) In the 1990's, a new technique for controlling aneurysms was developed using a graft inserted through the femoral arteries. This technique is called EndoVascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR). EVAR is significantly less invasive than open surgery and is associated with a mortality rate six times lower. Patients recover faster, leave the hospital sooner, and return to activities of normal daily life more quickly. Consequently, EVAR has become the gold standard for treatment of AAA disease. About Aortica Corporation Aortica Corporation was founded to design, manufacture, and market tools for treatment of patients with AAA disease who have aortic anatomy that limits their treatment options. While EVAR has become a highly desirable option for treatment of AAA disease, approximately 40% of patients in need of repair are not candidates for EVAR because their aortic anatomy is structured in a manner that does not allow an endograft to be anchored properly. These patients face either open surgery or may be treated sub-optimally with standard EVAR. Aortica is advancing the science of personalized medicine by developing a "patient-specific" solution to this problem that combines a patient's CT scans with its proprietary software and 3-D printing to personalize a standard endograft to fit precisely and anchor securely within each patient's unique anatomy. For further information visit the company's website at www.aorticacorp.com
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