Israeli firm sets up here to test medical device 

An Israeli biomedical company that has developed a nonsurgical device to monitor chronic illnesses is opening its first U.S. office in Columbus.

Sensible Medical Innovations, founded in 2007, is preparing to test the device on humans to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"It's just a terrific situation from a clinical and from a business standpoint," said Dr. William T. Abraham, professor and director of cardiovascular medicine at Ohio State University. "Currently available tools for monitoring congestive heart failure have failed to keep patients out of the hospital, resulting in a very high cost to patients and to the health-care economy."

Sensible has one employee locally but expects to add more as it tests the device in conjunction with Ohio State and the Cleveland Clinic.

Sensible has received a grant to help in the device's development from the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, a Third Frontier Wright Mega-Center led by the Cleveland Clinic. Sensible also received $7 million from two venture-capital firms.