Anesthesia & Life Support in Utah

Through The Cords designs and manufactures next-generation airway management tools purpose-built for video laryngoscopes. The company's flagship product, the Runnels Steerable Introducer™, addresses critical gaps in difficult airway management by providing articulating tip control and intuitive depth control to improve first-pass intubation success rates and reduce complications. Founded by Dr. Sean Runnels, Through The Cords applies disruptive innovation principles to make advanced airway management accessible and affordable globally, with particular focus on low-resource settings. The company targets emergency medicine, anesthesia, critical care, and first-responder markets, addressing the fact that 55% of failed intubations in EDs and ICUs result from inability to direct the endotracheal tube into the trachea. Annual intubation complications cost the healthcare system over $5 billion and result in approximately 60,000 deaths, creating strong clinical and economic drivers for improved airway tools.

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, the company employs approximately 7,000 people worldwide and serves hospitals and physicians across the globe. Merit specializes in devices for cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care, and endoscopy applications. The product portfolio includes catheters, guide wires, balloons, inflation devices, syringes, needles, stents, biopsy tools, drainage systems, embolics and delivery systems, access devices, and monitoring equipment. Merit serves multiple clinical specialties including interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, gastroenterology, critical care, electrophysiology, nephrology, pulmonology, breast surgery, and interventional oncology. The company offers procedural solutions for cardiac catheterization, dialysis access, biopsy procedures, embolotherapy, stricture management, spine interventions, and structural heart applications. Merit operates globally with manufacturing and distribution capabilities supporting complex interventional procedures. The company provides clinician education through Merit's Think Education program and maintains regulatory compliance appropriate for disposable medical devices in the United States and international markets.

enableCV, LLC is an independent cardiac surgery device company focused on advancing minimally invasive and open-heart surgical procedures. The company develops innovative medical devices designed to provide continuous blood flow during cardiopulmonary bypass and enable next-generation cardiac surgery techniques. EnableCV's product portfolio includes the IntraClude intra-aortic occlusion device for minimally invasive cardiac procedures, the ProPlege peripheral retrograde cardioplegia device for coronary sinus occlusion and cardioplegia delivery, the QuickDraw Plus femoral venous cannula for blood drainage during bypass, and arterial cannulae (OptiSite and EZ Glide) for short-term perfusion. The company leverages deep expertise developed through its heritage with Edwards Lifesciences and collaborates with a preeminent medical advisory board to expand its portfolio. All devices are FDA-regulated and restricted to sale by or on the order of a physician. EnableCV serves cardiac surgeons and cardiothoracic surgical centers requiring specialized bypass and cardioplegia management solutions.

ANEclear is a patented medical device designed to accelerate the washout of inhaled volatile anesthetics from the brain at the end of surgery. The device uses the patient's own carbon dioxide to vasodilate cerebral vasculature and restore electrical signaling in neurons controlling wakefulness and breathing, enabling faster and safer anesthesia emergence. ANEclear is specifically indicated for elderly, obese, and pediatric patients at elevated risk for postoperative complications including delirium, postoperative cognitive dysfunction, airway obstruction, and nausea/vomiting. By rapidly reversing anesthetic effects in the brain, ANEclear reduces recovery time, lowers complications, and improves operating room and post-anesthesia care unit efficiency while reducing overall patient care costs.

Kairos Biosciences is a Salt Lake City, Utah–based regenerative medicine and surgical wound care company focused on enhancing acute surgical recovery. The company develops proprietary collagen and antimicrobial dressing technologies for high-risk surgical and wound environments. Primary product portfolio includes NuForra, a Type I collagen matrix powder featuring AngioReef™ technology with an 80–120 µm pore structure designed to support vascularization in complex surgical wounds, and PurForm AM, a silicone-backed antimicrobial foam dressing containing PHMB (Polyhexamethylene Biguanide) for post-operative wound management. Kairos targets community hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), VA/DoD facilities, and specialized wound care centers. The company is DOBE-certified (Disabled Owned Business Enterprise), providing procurement advantages for distributor partners. Kairos emphasizes rapid innovation, proprietary formulation science, and patient-first product development with a lean organizational structure.