Realheart recruits CTO from German artificial heart start-up
Realheart has recruited a Chief Technology Officer for its headquarters in Västerås, Sweden. Thomas Finocchiaro joins from a similar role at a German company named Reinheart TAH GmbH, which, like Realheart, is developing an artificial heart.
Thomas Finocchiaro was born in Germany in 1976. He graduated from the University of Aachen, where he obtained a PhD in electrical engineering in 2012, investigating a linear drive concept for artificial hearts. He has worked for more than ten years at the University Hospital of Aachen, first as manager of a TAH programme (Total Artificial Heart) and later as a group leader at the Department of Cardiovascular Engineering. Since 2015, he has been employed at Reinheart TAH GmbH, first as Development Manager and most recently in the role of Chief Scientific Officer.
Chief Technology Officer at Realheart, Thomas Finocchiaro
‘’This feels like a great hire. Here we have a TAH system expert with deep medical knowledge, who has a broad network of clinical experts, potential suppliers and service providers in the field. He also speaks fluent German which is of great value in our collaboration with Berlin Heart. I am so pleased to have him join my team,” said CEO Ina Laura Perkins.
As Chief Technology Officer at Realheart, Thomas Finocchiaro will lead the engineering team and the ongoing development of Realheart’s artificial heart as well as future products in the company’s portfolio. ‘’The company has strong management and development teams, and has already come a long way developing the world’s first artificial four-chamber heart. I am really looking forward to contributing my experience to Realheart’s continued path to commercialization and to the patient,” said Thomas Finocchiaro.
Scandinavian Real Heart AB develops a total artificial heart (TAH) for implantation in patients with life-threatening heart failure. Realheart TAH has a unique, patented design that resembles that of the natural human heart. The artificial heart consists of a four-chamber system (two atriums and two chambers) which provides the opportunity to generate a physiologically adapted blood flow that mimics the body’s natural circulation. A unique concept in the medical technology world.