The journey of Strait Access Technologies

Strait Access Technologies (SAT) is a spin-off company originally founded by Professors Peter Zilla, David Williams and the late Deon Bezuidenhout in 2008. The company is dedicated to developing low-cost heart valve replacements, specifically designed for the challenges of emerging economies. SAT heart valves are designed to treat the 40 million Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) sufferers worldwide, without the need for open-heart surgery. SAT’s biggest breakthrough product is a heart valve with polymeric leaflets/flaps, instead of the traditional bovine or porcine tissue. This polymer valve promises to eliminate the biggest downside of traditional transcatheter heart valves – calcification – without the need for long term blood-thinning drugs.

In 2017, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared RHD is a global health threat. It is a preventable condition triggered by streptococcal bacteria, but when left untreated can cause a patient’s immune system to attack their own heart while fighting the infection. This leads to an acute inflammation of the heart and valves accompanied by a fever. Acute Rheumatic Fever primarily affects lower socioeconomic status people without access to penicillin. 

SAT employs 60+ engineers, scientists and clinicians. Having successfully completed animal trials, following ethics approval, the first-in-human trial recruitment has commenced.  Whilst the technology will have significant benefits in the African environment, its advantages will be equally beneficial for the developed world where durable transcatheter valves are needed to treat younger patients who suffer from heart valve diseases. 

Figure 1. The summarised journey of SAT.

Strait Access Technologies exemplifies a university-driven spin-off success story. Born from UCT’s research brilliance, nurtured through strategic partnerships and funding, and empowered by world-class facilities, SAT’s journey reflects the power of academic collaboration in delivering real-world impact.

Figure 2. This is the SAT deployment system with a transcatheter heart valve. When crimped onto the hollow-balloon system and inserted into the heart, it has the diameter of a pencil (a). With the balloon arms, it’s easy to position the valve correctly (B). When the balloon deploys the valve, it allows blood to flow through, making it unnecessary to stop the heart (C). Once positioned, small nose-like structures hold the valve firmly in place.