When Bob Rosenbluth, PhD, and Brian Cox founded MicroVention Inc. in 1997, they planned to focus on cerebral aneurysms and ischemic stroke, which is the formation of clots in the brain that can cut off blood supply. They were developing a catheter-based device, which they hoped would be effective in removing clots from small blood vessels in the brain.
But their focus narrowed as they talked to thought-leaders in the field and became aware of the realities and difficulties of developing new treatments for ischemic stroke and the opportunities...