Robert Chisena graduated from the University of Michigan with his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2019. Since then, he’s been helping to revolutionize the treatment of cardiovascular disease through Amplitude Vascular Systems (AVS), a start-up he co-founded during his time in ME.
Chisena came to U-M after completing his bachelor’s degree at Penn State University. Having taken an interest in biomedical applications of mechanical engineering during his undergraduate education, he was drawn to U-M largely because of the opportunities for collaboration between U-M ME and the U-M Medical School.
“One of the University of Michigan’s value propositions is that the engineering school is so close to the medical school,” Chisena explained. “What that does is allow the assimilation of ideas.”
In 2019, he capitalized on the ME-Medical School collaboration by co-founding AVS while he was working in the Biomedical Manufacturing and Design Lab, led by Albert Shih, professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at U-M.
Chisena’s research related to AVS began in 2016 and 2017, after Hitinder Gurm, Park Willis III Collegiate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, came to Shih’s lab with an idea: a device that could apply impact energy to treat severely calcified arterial disease in patients.
In his work as an interventional cardiologist, Gurm had realized a need for a new approach to breaking apart the calcium that builds up in arteries and eventually blocks off the vessel. High levels of calcium in arteries are associated with a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular events. With $250,000 in non-dilutive research funding from Fast Forward Medical Innovation, NIH NCAI – Cleveland Clinic, and the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Chisena, Gurm, and Shih worked to develop and validate a transformative solution.
“We did what I call a ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ approach,” Chisena said. “So, ‘bottom-up,’ we studied the pathology of calcium and found that there were chinks in the microstructural armour—it had these voids, pits, and microcracks. When you send these hydraulic shocks through it, it will break up.”
Once Chisena and the rest of the research team developed a proof-of-concept for delivering impact energy through a catheter, they employed a ‘top-down’ approach, which used Gurm’s experience in the cath lab to build a device fit to function in that setting.
The result was the Pulse IVL™ system. This system is a new mechanism of intravascular lithotripsy, which is the use of high-frequency hydraulic pulsatile pressure waves to fracture arterial calcium. Pulse IVL™ is a preparatory device for further treatment that allows healthcare professionals to address a wide range of patients more efficiently.
The novelty and significance of the Pulse IVL™ system are recognized in the healthcare industry. In April, Chisena was named to the Cardiovascular Business Forty Under 40 Class of 2025 for his work as co-founder and chief technology officer of AVS.
“It’s super exciting for me, because if you look at that list, the innovators and physicians on it have done very well in their careers,” he said about the recognition. “It’s a list of helping people. When you’re high on a list of over-achievers who are over-achieving by helping people, you’re doing something right.”
As co-founder and chief technology officer, Chisena leads the research and development team, setting the vision for the company’s product development pipeline. Since completing his PhD and establishing AVS, he has continued to build upon the foundation that was laid at U-M, which he credits with playing a major role in his professional success.
“As a founder of a device that has electrical components, software components, mechanical components, and energy applications, I’ve had to use my understanding of complex electromechanical systems I learned at U-M pretty broadly,” he said. “Professor Shih and all of Michigan Mechanical Engineering were instrumental in the success of AVS and its ability to help improve the lives of patients.”
One course, Mechatronics Systems Design (ME552), taught Chisena more than concepts of controls, he explained. Like many ME courses, ME552 was centered around a design project that required long hours of work. The experience of working to develop a product, Chisena said, prepared him for the demands of leading a start-up of his own.
Looking to the future, Chisena has high expectations for AVS. In a 2022 preliminary study, Pulse IVL™ was used to treat nine patients outside of the U.S. with positive outcomes, he said. Now, a pivotal trial is on-going within the U.S. as the start-up prepares to go commercial in the near future.
Chisena’s collaboration with Gurm and Shih to develop an abstract concept into an effective, revolutionary medical device is a testament to the potential of U-M mechanical engineers to make meaningful contributions to the medical field. Guiding his work with the company is one goal: to help people around the world.
“Cardiovascular disease is one of the most prevalent diseases that exists in the world today, and it has been for a very long time,” Chisena said. “Any tools you can provide to a physician to enhance efficacy and safety of treatment are great tools to add to the toolbox.”
Footnote: Hitinder Gurm is also professor of internal medicine, and academic medical center chief medical officer for University of Michigan Health.
