Pleural Dynamics

What Pleural Dynamics does

Pleural Dynamics is a Wayzata, Minnesota-based privately held medical device company founded in 2020 that has developed the ACES (Automatic Continuous Effusion Shunt), the first and only FDA 510(k)-cleared, fully-implantable, minimally invasive device for treating recurrent pleural effusions. The ACES implant uses the patient's natural respiratory motion — just 0.5 mm of chest wall compression per breath, equivalent to approximately 23,040 breaths per day — to continuously pump pleural fluid through a subcutaneously placed pump chamber from the pleural space to the abdomen, where it is naturally reabsorbed. The system comprises a pump chamber, a pleural catheter, and a peritoneal catheter, and is designed to replace both indwelling pleural catheters (which require 3-4x weekly home drainage) and pleurodesis (which requires a 5.5-day hospital stay and has a 30% failure rate).

The company commercializes ACES through a direct hospital sales motion targeting interventional pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, and health systems, with reimbursement support via dedicated HCPCS code C8006 and CPT codes 49418 and 32556 covering both inpatient (MS-DRG) and outpatient (APC) settings. Clinical evidence supporting the product is derived from a 25-patient prospective study (the ACES Study) conducted at Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, UNC, and Memorial Healthcare System, published in Chest in 2025, demonstrating a 53% median reduction in pleural effusion volume at 30 days, 0% pleural infection rate, 0% 30-day failure rate, and 100% of patients avoiding at-home drainage procedures. Pleural Dynamics is led by founder and CEO Martin L. Mayse, has 1-10 employees, and has raised approximately $4.5M cumulatively across a 2020 seed round ($835K) and a 2023 SEC-registered exempt offering ($3.68M sold of a $5.64M target) led by Engage Venture Partners.

Name

Pleural Dynamics

Legal name

Pleural Dynamics, Inc.

Website

https://pleuraldynamics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pleural Dynamics is a Minnesota-based medical device company that has developed the ACES (Automatic Continuous Effusion Shunt), the first FDA-cleared, fully-implantable, breathing-powered device for treating recurrent pleural effusions. It sells directly to hospitals and interventional pulmonology/thoracic surgery specialists in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Implantable Medical Devices

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112), Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (339113)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Orthopedic, Prosthetic & Surgical Appliances & Supplies (3842)

akta.pro primary industry

Open & Minimally Invasive Surgical Instruments (Handheld, Laparoscopic, MIS) (HLAHADAA)

Keywords

• Pleural effusion treatment
• Implantable medical devices
• Thoracic care devices
• Respiratory fluid management
• Minimally invasive implants

Headquarters

HQ city

Minnesota City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Sales: Sale of ACES implant devices and accessory kits to hospitals and healthcare providers for use in treating recurrent pleural effusions. The device is approved for sale in the USA and distributed through direct sales to healthcare facilities. Revenue generated from device sales for both inpatient and outpatient procedures.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pleural Dynamics designs, manufactures, and commercializes the ACES (Automatic Continuous Effusion Shunt) system, the first and only FDA-cleared, minimally invasive, fully implantable medical device for treating recurrent pleural effusions. The device is placed under the skin and uses the body's natural breathing motion to continuously shunt pleural fluid into the abdomen where it is reabsorbed, eliminating the need for external catheters, drainage procedures, or extended hospital stays.

Product overview

Pleural Dynamics offers a single core product—the ACES (Automatic Continuous Effusion Shunt) system—which is an FDA-cleared implantable medical device for treating recurrent pleural effusions. The system uses respiratory motion to drive continuous, automatic transfer of pleural effusion fluid into the abdomen where it is naturally reabsorbed, without the need for pleurodesis or external drainage catheters. The ACES system comprises a pump chamber, pleural catheter, and peritoneal catheter. The company provides supporting resources including clinical data, reimbursement coding guides, specifications sheets, and patient education materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACES: Automatic Continuous Effusion Shunt - FDA-cleared, minimally invasive implant designed to eliminate recurrent pleural effusions by automatically and continuously moving pleural fluid into the abdomen using the body's natural breathing motion.

Products and services

• ACES (Automatic Continuous Effusion Shunt) Implant System The ACES system is the first and only FDA-cleared, minimally invasive, fully implantable medical device designed to eliminate recurrent pleural effusions. It uses the patient's natural breathing motion to automatically and continuously move pleural fluid into the abdomen for reabsorption, eliminating the need for external catheters, tubes, bottles, or at-home drainage procedures. The system consists of a pump chamber placed under the skin between the ribs, a pleural catheter, and a peritoneal catheter, and is intended for use by interventional pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons in hospitals and health systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 53% median reduction in pleural effusion volume at 30 days
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Atrium Medical (Getinge): Atrium Medical, part of Getinge, manufactures chest drainage and thoracic surgery products. It is a broader incumbent serving the same hospital customers that ACES targets.
• Teleflex: Teleflex manufactures interventional and thoracic access products including chest drainage and thoracentesis devices. It is a broad incumbent in the procedural space where ACES is positioned.
• Cook Medical: Cook Medical supplies a wide range of interventional devices including drainage catheters used in pleural and thoracic procedures. Its breadth and hospital relationships make it a relevant incumbent comparable.

Direct peers

• Argon Medical: Argon Medical produces drainage catheters and interventional accessories used in thoracic and pleural procedures, including the SKATER drainage catheter line. It is a direct competitor in pleural effusion drainage.
• Becton Dickinson (BD): BD manufactures and markets PleurX and other indwelling pleural catheters, the dominant non-pharmacologic alternative to ACES for managing recurrent pleural effusions. It is the most directly competitive product in the same clinical workflow.
• Rocket Medical: Rocket Medical supplies pleural drainage catheters and procedural kits used in thoracentesis and indwelling drainage. It competes in the same pleural effusion management workflow targeted by ACES.
• Merit Medical Systems: Merit Medical offers a portfolio of drainage catheters including pigtail and thoracic drainage products used for pleural effusion management. Its hospital-channel presence and catheter technology overlap directly with the ACES use case.
• Medela: Medela's Healthcare division produces thoracic drainage systems (e.g., Thopaz, chest drain technology) used in pleural effusion and pneumothorax management. Its active portable drainage systems overlap functionally with the ACES value proposition.
• Redax: Redax manufactures silicone drains and chest drainage devices used in thoracic surgery. Its drainage-focused portfolio directly addresses the same clinical setting as ACES.

Others

• Stryker: While not focused on pleural effusion, Stryker is a broad medical device incumbent with interventional and surgical platforms that overlap hospital customers targeted by Pleural Dynamics. Relevant as a comparator for medical-device commercial scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pleuraldynamics
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PleuralDynamics
• Facebookfacebook.com/PleuralDynamics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pleural-dynamics-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/pleuraldynamics

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pleural Dynamics