SentreHEART, Inc., a privately-held medical device company announced that it has recently completed a $26 million Series C financing led by Vivo Ventures with participation by its existing investors US Venture Partners and Prospect Ventures.

"We are delighted to have the continuing financial and strategic support of these top investment firms," said Paul Buckman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SentreHEART. "The LARIAT Suture Delivery Device has the potential to transform certain open surgical procedures traditionally performed in the operating room into more cost effective procedures that can be performed in the catheterization lab, where only a small piece of suture is left behind. We believe it may have application in more than 2.5 million procedures annually which represents a $1.6 billion market opportunity worldwide."

The LARIAT Suture Delivery Device facilitates suture placement and knot tying for use in surgical applications where soft tissues are being approximated and/or ligated using a pre-tied polyester suture.

Along with the new funding, SentreHEART also announced that Chen Yu, Managing Partner from Vivo Ventures, would join the board of directors. Dr. Yu is a board member in numerous life science companies and received his M.D. and M.B.A. from Stanford University and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Biology from Harvard University.

"This financing, along with recent additions to our leadership team of several veteran medical device executives, enables us to expand upon our early commercial success," said Buckman. "We have seen that our technology is being rapidly adopted by physicians around the world and we now look to support and continue this steady growth. Our on-going clinical and commercial successes confirm the market need for soft tissue closure without the expense and morbidities associated with traditional open surgeries."

About SentreHEART, Inc.

SentreHEART, Inc., based in Redwood City, California, is a privately held medical device company that manufacturers the LARIAT Suture Delivery Device for remote delivery of a pre-tied suture loop. Innovation in catheter and suture delivery technology enables physicians to remotely deliver a 40mm pre-tied suture loop for immediate and complete soft tissue closure through access as small as 4.3mm and with no metal, clips or fabrics left behind. Regulatory clearance for soft tissue ligation and approximation has been received in the US, Europe, and Canada. For more information, please visit www.sentreheart.com.