Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a complex illness. The most common GERD patient refluxes acid. However, many patients reflux something other than acid (non-erosive GERD/NERD), and many have respiratory symptoms that consist of wheezing, chronic cough or hoarseness.
Stretta therapy has been shown to improve all of these symptoms of reflux. Stretta therapy involves low-temperature radiofrequency (RF) energy delivered to the muscle of the LES and Gastric Cardia in an out-patient setting. This has been shown to remodel the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), improve LES function, and decrease transient relaxations of this muscle, which is a known cause of GERD.
Mark Noar, MD, Director of Endoscopic Microsurgery Associates in Towson, Maryland is the most experienced Stretta practitioner, having performed over 2,000 cases. Dr. Noar has authored several clinical studies on Stretta. “NERD is a form of GERD or gastrointestinal reflux disease in which there is no gross damage to the esophageal tissue such as ulcers or erosions,” states Dr. Noar. “None the less, NERD sufferers may have the same degree and intensity of symptoms as in other more damaging types of GERD. In the case of NERD, the symptoms are still caused by the refluxing of stomach contents into the esophagus or larynx. These gastric contents may be strongly acidic, weakly acidic, weakly basic or even strongly basic, like bile. The level of symptoms noticed by the patient is dependent on each individuals’ level of sensitivity to pH. This makes the generalization of treatment for GERD difficult, because there is no single medication that can treat all the different causes of the disease. The Stretta procedure, however, is ideal for all types of GERD/NERD, since the technology is ‘an equal opportunity treatment’, with positive physiological effects that equally impact all causes or forms of GERD, including NERD, erosive GERD and respiratory symptoms of GERD. The reason for this is that it limits the frequency and amount of reflux from the stomach into the esophagus.”
Contributor:
Mark Noar, MD
Endoscopic Microsurgery Associates
Bree has been an integral part of Restech from the very beginning. She holds a Masters in Public Health from George Washington University, a BFA from The University of Kansas in Visual Communications, and is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach. Her command of marketing, public health/health delivery systems, and human health behavior change gives her a unique perspective in developing effective marketing strategies for the company.
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Thomas previously worked as a polysomnographic technologist in the Virginia Mason system, before moving into sales with Restech in 2007. After spending 9 years working with distributors across Europe, he was moved into an organizational role at the head office in Houston. In this capacity he works closely with sales and marketing to provide clinical support, manages clinical studies, and provides clinical perspectives on business development. In his spare time Thomas plays rugby for Houston Athletic Rugby Club.
Jeff has over 30 years of experience in the medical device industry and previously worked in sales at companies such as Encision Inc., Interventional Therapies, LLC, Boston Scientific, and United States Surgical Corporation. He has been working as the VP of Sales for Mederi Therapeutics since 2009 and now brings his extensive expertise to Restech. Jeff was part of the team that bridged the Mederi asset sale to Restech. His clinical knowledge of the Stretta and Secca technologies is invaluable. Jeff has three decades of physician relations experience that he brings to Restech as part of the leadership team.
Ray joined Restech in May 2018 as the Vice President for Sales. He has been in the medical device, and specifically in the GERD space for more than 18 years. Starting in sales at Sandhill Scientific pH diagnostics, he moved on to Curon Medical when Stretta and Secca were first introduced to the market. He then worked for Given Imaging when Curon closed operations. When Stretta was relaunced he joined Mederi as VP of Sales. Ray was instrumental in keeping Stretta alive and the customer based informed when Mederi ceased operation and assets were purchased by Restech. He is part of the leadership team directing all product sales for Restech. Ray graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk with a BS in Marketing and Business Administration.
Mark is a seasoned professional and Certified Public Accountant in Texas who brings a unique blend of creative vision and financial expertise to any leadership team. He worked as a Senior Executive for 15 years on a leadership team which grew a private equity backed cash logistics company performing at negative EBITDA on $100 million revenue into an international industry leader with superior profitability on revenue exceeding $1.5 billion. In addition, he spent 10 years as a Senior Manager at Price Waterhouse delivering results-oriented merger & acquisition, audit and strategic consulting services to middle market clientele including over 40 manufacturing, distribution, service, nonprofit and technology clients. Mark currently serves as a Chief Financial Officer and consulting CFO (seven years) providing in-house and outsourced CFO and transactional services to the middle market.
Larry is the CTO for Restech and holds a B.S. in Computer Science. He is a software architect specializing in remote patient monitoring, medical sensors, and clinical trial software. Larry holds a patent on massively distributed computing and has worked for a number of major software startup companies including Sybase, Oracle, and Teradata. Larry was also the co-founder of a startup to deliver advanced clinical pathways to patients using mobile devices and medical sensors. Larry is truly a pioneer and now a veteran in the deployment.
Jeff has a breadth of experience with over 25 years in engineering and executive positions within major fortune 100 healthcare companies. He also has proven success in startup medical technology companies. Jeff provides leadership in securing and managing Restech’s patent portfolio. He also built Restech’s compliance platform that established regulatory acceptance in 25+ countries worldwide. Jeff’s scientific support and in-depth understanding of the device industry set the foundation for current and future commercial innovations at Restech.
With nearly 30 years of working with physician thought leaders developing novel and emerging technologies, Leo has played a key role in the development and evolution of balloon angioplasty and stent technologies that revolutionized the therapy of cardiac disease. His experience was instrumental in the development of the patented platform technology which drives the Restech sensor. Leo provides a vision and passion for effecting change in the diagnosis and management of atypical reflux.
With over 20 years of executive experience in both the private and public sector, Debra brings a broad understanding of healthcare delivery system. With experience managing products aimed at wide scale disease and population management for 20 million subscribers, Debra has extensive experience in effectively and efficiently developing models of delivery that address specific health issues. Debra has also been involved in the legislative process and served as the elected President of the Independent Physician Association of California. Debra is dedicated to bringing tools to the healthcare market that improve and support the clinical process.