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Forest Devices Announces That FDA Has Designated the AlphaStroke Technology a Breakthrough Device

10Featured news, Latest news May, 21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOREST DEVICES ANNOUNCES THAT FDA HAS DESIGNATED THE
ALPHASTROKE TECHNOLOGY A BREAKTHROUGH DEVICE

Pittsburgh, PA – May 21, 2021. Medical technology pioneer Forest Devices, Inc. (FDI), a medical device company focused on identifying patients with large vessel occlusive (LVO) strokes in the prehospital environment, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated its AlphaStroke technology as a Breakthrough Device.

“We are thrilled to work closely with the FDA to accelerate the introduction of what is currently the most needed intervention in for patients suffering a stroke,” said Matt Kesinger, CEO of FDI. “As a former EMT on ambulances, I experienced the challenge of correctly identifying stroke patients in the field. The AlphaStroke device is the only portable technology designed specifically to assist prehospital providers.”

The goal of the Breakthrough Device program is to provide patients and health care providers with timely access to certain medical devices that deliver more effective treatment of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions by speeding up their development, assessment, and review.

LVOs are the most debilitating type of stroke and require an interventional thrombectomy, only available at highly specialized hospitals. Every minute of treatment delay increases the risks of death and permanent disability.

About Forest Devices

Forest Devices, Inc. is a medical device company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Calgary, Alberta that has developed AlphaStroke, the first prehospital stroke detection technology. The company strives to reduce functional disability from stroke by eliminating delays in stroke treatment.

For press inquiries, contact:
Carmelo R. Montalvo
412.404.3769
pr@forestdevices.com
URL: forestdevices.com

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Forest Devices Announces Positive Study Results For Their Stroke Detection Technology

00Featured news, Latest news, Studies February, 21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOREST DEVICES ANNOUNCES POSITIVE STUDY RESULTS FOR THEIR STROKE DETECTION TECHNOLOGY

Pittsburgh, PA – February 23, 2021. Medical technology pioneer Forest Devices, Inc. (FDI) today announced the publication of positive results from the EDGAR study of its AlphaStroke™ technology in identifying patients with large vessel occlusive (LVO) strokes in emergency departments in the American Heart Association Journal, STROKE. LVOs are the type of ischemic stroke that require an interventional thrombectomy, only available at highly specialized hospitals, and every minute of treatment delay increases the risk of death and permanent disability.

The study showed that, compared to the clinical exams currently used by medics in the field to make triage decisions, AlphaStroke was 28% – 40% superior at correctly identifying patients with LVO, and equally good as the clinical exams, at correctly ruling out patients with non-LVO diagnoses.

“The results from the EDGAR study are a high-water mark in the global effort to improve early identification of patients needing thrombectomy,” said Matt Kesinger, CEO of FDI. “As a former EMT on ambulances, I experienced the challenge of correctly identifying stroke patients with only a few clinical exam questions. The EDGAR study is the first study, in which a portable technology, designed specifically for LVO identification, has been shown to outperform clinical exams currently applied by EMT’s worldwide.”

“The EDGAR study shows AlphaStroke™ has the potential to dramatically improve the detection of large vessel occlusion stroke in the prehospital environment,” said Dr. Paulina Sergot, lead author of the study and Emergency Medicine physician at Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, Texas, one of the hospitals participating in the EDGAR study.

“This technology will be a game-changer in the prehospital,” said senior study author Dr. Frank Peacock, Vice Chair for Research of Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine. “Easy, fast, and more accurate than clinical impression for the diagnosis of LVO, using AlphaStroke™ on ambulances will mean more stroke victims getting to the right hospital as soon as possible. Time is brain, and fast treatment is the only thing that can prevent death or permanent disability from stroke.”

FDI’s diagnostic platform, AlphaStroke™, is designed to support prehospital healthcare providers in identifying stroke.

Forest Devices, Inc. is a medical device company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Calgary, Alberta that has developed AlphaStroke, the first prehospital stroke detection technology. The company strives to reduce functional disability from stroke by eliminating delays in stroke treatment.

https://forestdevices.com

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.031225

For press inquiries, contact:
Carmelo R. Montalvo
412.404.3769
pr@forestdevices.com
URL: forestdevices.com

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Forest Devices Launches Collaboration With Alberta Health Services

10Featured news, Latest news June, 20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOREST DEVICES LAUNCHES COLLABORATION WITH ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES

Calgary, Alberta and Pittsburgh, PA, June 30th, 2020 ‒ Medical technology pioneer Forest Devices, Inc. (FDI) today announced a commitment to improve healthcare delivery for stroke patients in Alberta, forming a collaboration with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to evaluate and test technologies that can improve patient outcomes and health system performance by empowering emergency first responders to make informed decisions regarding care for stroke patients.

FDI’s stroke diagnostic platform, AlphaStroke, is the first technology that supports paramedics and other medical first responders in identifying stroke in the field so they can make the best triage decisions for patients.

In Alberta, two comprehensive stroke hospitals and approximately 500 ambulances serve a population of over four million people living in over 650,000 square kilometers. The AHS/FDI collaboration was enabled by way of the Prehospital Stroke Diagnostics Project, which was created by AHS in 2019 with the aim of testing an innovative solution that increases the accuracy and speed of prehospital diagnosis of stroke. The project team assessed 14 technologies and ultimately determined that AlphaStroke, and the vision of FDI, aligned most closely with the objectives of AHS and worth testing in real world settings.

Annually, stroke accounts for thousands of hospitalizations in Alberta and costs over $400 million. Every minute a stroke goes untreated, 2 million neurons die. Faster and more accurate prehospital diagnosis presents the opportunity to save time and brain.

FDI CEO and Co-founder, Matt Kesinger, added “The partnership between AHS and FDI has created an exciting opportunity to expand and accelerate the development and deployment of our innovative stroke diagnostic technology. AHS has been a global leader in stroke care innovation for decades, and this collaboration represents an unparalleled opportunity to improve outcomes for patients, their families, and health systems across the world.”

“I want to commend Forest Devices, Inc. for choosing Alberta. Our province has a dynamic healthcare innovation ecosystem – and being recognized for our talent and expertise is a huge win that will spur future developments across multiple sectors of the economy. This supports our government’s strategic focus to strengthen economic development through innovation, and I look forward to what’s in store for the future,” said Tanya Fir, Alberta’s Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism.

“This is our second collaboration with the Impact, Innovation & Evidence team at AHS.  They have become a critical investment attraction and innovation ecosystem partner, with a demand/pull driven strategy, and an open-minded, collaborative approach.” – Christy Pierce, CEO, New West Networks – Calgary and San Francisco based team supporting the efforts of Alberta’s Economic Development, Trade & Tourism Department.

Forest Devices, Inc. is a medical device company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Calgary, Alberta that has developed AlphaStroke, the first prehospital stroke detection technology. The company strives to reduce functional disability caused by stroke by eliminating delays in stroke treatment.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/
https://www.forestdevices.com/

For press inquiries, contact:
Carmelo R. Montalvo
pr@forestdevices.com
URL: www.forestdevices.com

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Forest Devices Wins AHA HealthTech Pitch Competition

00Featured news, Latest news November, 19

Philadelphia, PA (November 20, 2019), 2:16PM — Andrew Maza, VP of Clinical Operations, won the AHA HealthTech Pitch Competition for Forest Devices in his very first solo pitch. We are excited to have won both the judge’s choice award and the people’s choice award and would like to thank the AHA, KITE, the judges, and audience for connecting with our mission.

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Forest Devices Voted MedTech Innovator 2019

30Featured news, Latest newsTags: September, 19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Forest Devices Voted MedTech Innovator 2019

Boston, MA (September 25, 2019), 1:14PM — Forest Devices, Inc., a startup medical device company developing the first portable stroke screening technology, has won the MedTech Innovator 2019 Showcase. Forest competed alongside a field of 800 other medical device companies for the title of “MedTech Innovator 2019.” In addition, Forest Devices received a $350,000 grand prize award.

MedTech Innovator is the industry’s non-profit global competition for medical devices, digital health, and diagnostic companies. Over 800 companies applied for this year’s program. Of those, 50 were selected to take part in the Medtech Innovator Showcase, and just five were chosen for a final pitch competition at the Medtech Conference in Boston, MA. On Tuesday, September 24th, Matt Kesinger, CEO, delivered the winning pitch. Upon accepting the award, Kesinger said, “It is an incredible honor to be recognized by the medtech community, especially given the other fantastic finalists in the competition. The funding will support us in bringing our game-changing technology to market.”

Forest Devices would like to thank Medtech Innovator for the opportunities, network, and resources provided through the program over the past few months. The company would also like to extend its gratitude to its investors, employees, and advisors who have made this possible.
Founded in 2015, Forest Devices, Inc. is a Pittsburgh-based medical device startup company that is developing AlphaStroke, the first device designed to detect stroke in any environment. The mission of Forest Devices is to reduce the disability of stroke victims by getting these patients needed treatments faster.

Read more here.

Medtech Innovator 2019 Finalists

Forest Devices is a MedTech Innovator 2019 Finalist

00Featured news, Latest newsTags: September, 19

We are excited to announce that Forest Devices has made it to the final round of MedTech Innovator 2019! Four other companies (Flosonics Medical, Koya, OncoRes Medical, and Venaria Medical) will be pitching, along with Forest, Tuesday, September 24th at the MedTech Conference in Boston for a chance the $350,000 Grand Prize as well as the title of MedTech Innovator 2019. We would like to thank the team at Medtech Innovator for their continued support, and we would also like to wish our competitors the best of luck.

If you would like to watch, the competition will be held at the Medtech Conference in Boston on the plenary stage at 3:45 PM ET on Tuesday, September 24th.

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Forest Devices Nominated for Tech50 ’19

00Featured news, Latest newsTags: , August, 19

Forest Devices has once again been chosen as a PTC Tech50 finalist. The company was selected to compete for Life Sciences Innovator of the year, and Matt Kesinger, Founder and CEO of Forest, has been selected to compete for CEO of the year.

We would like to thank the Pittsburgh Technology Council for selecting our company, and would also like to wish the competing companies and CEOs the best of luck.

The other finalists along with more event information can be found here.

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Medtech Innovator 2019

30Featured news, Latest newsTags: June, 19

The Forest Devices team is excited to announce that the company has been accepted into the Medtech Innovator Accelerator Class of 2019. The prestigious program includes the opportunity to receive feedback from the largest manufacturers in the Medtech industry such as J&J, BD, Baxter, and Olympus; to gather input from some of the largest healthcare providers in the country, including UCLA Health, the Mayo Clinic, and Providence Health; and exposure to some of the largest investors in the healthcare industry including RCT Ventures, Aphelion Capital, Healthtech Capital, and Life Science Angels.

The Accelerator is a four months long virtual program, running from June to September with the goal of preparing the company for the Medtech Innovator Showcase where Forest will be competing for a spot as a finalist in the Medtech Innovator Competition and later for the Grand Prize spot.

The team is thankful to Medtech Innovator for the opportunity, and eager to learn from as much as possible from some of the best and most experienced people in the industry.