Original Article TEWKSBURY, Mass. & MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mitralign Inc., an innovative developer of transcatheter tricuspid and mitral valve repair solutions, announced today the commencement of its SCOUT II study in Europe, with the Trialign System for the treatment of patients suffering from tricuspid regurgitation. “We are pleased to be the first center in Europe to commence enrolling in SCOUT II,” commented Azeem Latib, M.D., Interventional Cardiologist San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy. “This is an exciting therapy which allows us to deliver a minimally invasive solution to a group of patients who have limited treatment options. The procedure was a great success, as we saw acute reduction in tricuspid regurgitation and the patient was able to go home shortly thereafter.” “The tricuspid valve is the last major valve opportunity in the structural heart space,” said Rick Geoffrion, Chief Executive Officer of Mitralign. “The 6-month data from our SCOUT I EFS Study in the United States has provided early safety and efficacy signals that we plan to build on with SCOUT II.” Additional SCOUT I data will be presented during the Satellite Symposium titled, Trialign: The Next Era in Tricuspid Repair, on Thursday, June 15, 2017 from 12:30-1:30 PM at the Transcatheter Valve Therapies (TVT) Conference in Chicago, IL: Sheraton Grand Chicago: Room Chicago VII. The Trialign™ System is an investigational device and is exclusively for clinical investigation. It is limited by Federal (or United States) Law to investigational use only. It is not available for sale or commercial distribution. The Trialign System is currently enrolling in the SCOUT I Early Feasibility Study and the SCOUT II CE Mark Study. About Tricuspid Regurgitation (TR) Tricuspid regurgitation occurs when the tricuspid valve fails to open and close properly, causing blood to flow backwards into the right atrium. If left untreated, TR can lead to heart enlargement and heart failure. In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 2.5 million patients suffering from TR1. It is estimated that 50% of patients with mitral regurgitation have moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation2. The annual incidence of patients with TR is increasing with an estimated 220,000 patients in the U.S., and 330,000 patients in the EU developing moderate-severe TR each year1. Despite the large prevalence of patients, TR is generally untreated by surgery with approximately 10,000 tricuspid valve surgeries performed annually in the US3. Annuloplasty repair is the most used technique for tricuspid valve surgery and represents 90% of the current volume. Isolated tricuspid valve surgery is particularly rare representing only 10% of current procedures while the remaining 90% are performed in conjunction with other left-heart surgeries3, 4. Permanent pacemaker (PPM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) lead placement has been shown to increase the frequency and/or severity of TR in multiple reports5-11.