Ypsilanti’s ISSYS lands $1.5M NIH grant for pre-clinical studies

Integrated Sensing Systems has scored a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health to help the company finish the pre-clinical work on its new technology, which wirelessly monitors the heart. "It's the last stage of a very long process before you get to human trials," says Nader Najafi, president & CEO of Integrated Sensing Systems. The Ypsilanti-based firm, commonly known as ISSYS, designs and develops microelectromechanical systems for medical and scientific sensing applications. Its latest piece of technology is an implant for the heart that allows medical professionals to wirelessly monitor the heart. "So you can monitor the heart on demand even with home monitoring," Najafi says. ISSYS, founded in 1995, has been working on this technology for 12 years. It has a staff of 30 and plans to add another 2-3 jobs this year. It will continue clinical trials of the technology for the next two years. After that, Najafi hopes to begin work on human trials, while also receiving FDA approval so it can begin sales. Source: Nader Najafi, president & CEO of Integrated Sensing Systems Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.