PHILADELPHIA, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenneth R. Kensey, prolific inventor, successful entrepreneur and progressive physician, died July 3rd at Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania of brain hemorrhage. Dr. Kensey, co-founder of Kensey-Nash Corporation, is the inventor or co-inventor in more than 130 patent filings with more than 50 patents issued. He was 58.
The inventor of the Angio-Seal® artery plug and the Rheolog® blood viscometer, Kensey made significant contributions to minimally invasive surgery and was recognized as a pioneer for his theories on the cause of heart disease.
Kensey was born in Everett, PA, the son of Edward I. Kensey and Fay L. Ritchey Kensey. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and received his medical degree from Ohio State University. After a cardiology fellowship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Kensey entered private practice where he began to see the need for innovations in the device technologies used in medicine.
With John E. Nash, Kensey founded Kensey-Nash Corporation in 1984, where he was responsible for creating numerous new medical technologies including the Angio-Seal®, the leading femoral artery puncture closure device marketed by St. Jude Medical, as well as the Kensey Catheter for Dynamic Angioplasty. Dr. Kensey's devices are in use worldwide. His inventions have contributed to saving millions of lives.
During his tenure as CEO of Kensey-Nash, Kensey was instrumental in facilitating joint ventures with Baxter Health Care, Johnson & Johnson, American Home Products, Cordis, and Tyco Medical.
In 1998, Kensey left Kensey-Nash to form Rheologics, Inc. (formerly, Visco Technologies, Inc.), where he developed the first in-vivo blood viscometer for use at the bedside in the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis. He served as CEO of Rheologics until 2005 and Chairman until 2009.
Kensey was the author of 17 journal articles, including contributions to the Journal of Invasive Cardiology and the Review of Scientific Instruments. He co-wrote The Origin of Atherosclerosis: What Really Initiates the Inflammatory Process, and The Blood Thinner Cure: A Revolutionary Seven-Step Lifestyle Plan for Stopping Heart Disease and Stroke. He was an invited lecturer at Harvard Medical School, the American College of Cardiology, Stanford University, the Mayo Clinic, UCLA, and the Arizona Heart Institute.
ProMetrics, Inc., based in King of Prussia, PA and formed in 1994, is an active investor in emerging medical technology and service companies. In 2007 ProMetrics invested in SLIM Tech, LLC, a development stage medical device company based on Dr. Kensey's patents for an implantable lymphatic device to remove lipids. Dr. Kensey was directing the research effort for SLIM Tech, LLC.
