14-Year Old Survived Without Heart For 4 Months Nov 21, 2008
All the while the teenager was alert, eating and walking around the hospital room with a blinking photocopier-size ventricular assist device that was attached to her chest to pump and cleanse her blood. "It was like I was a fake person, like I didn't really exist. I was just here," the New York Post quoted her as saying at her triumphant press conference at Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami. (Oneindia)
Surgeon who did first US heart transplant dies Nov 20, 2008
Adrian Kantrowitz invented and for decades continued to improve the left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, which would later lend its name to his Detroit-based research company, L-VAD Technology Inc. ... left ventricular assist device. (Yahoo News)
Thoratec Schedules Third Quarter 2008 Conference Call, Webcast Oct 25, 2008
The company's product lines include the Thoratec(R) VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) and HeartMate(R) LVAS (Left Ventricular Assist System) with nearly 12,000 devices implanted in patients suffering from heart failure. Additionally, its International Technidyne Corporation (ITC) division supplies point-of-care blood testing and skin incision products. (PR Newswire)
New devices used to reduce arterial occlusions, provide cardiac support, highlighted at TCT 2008 Oct 13, 2008
The featured devices include one designed to optimize stenting of complex arterial lesions, a left ventricular assist device for patients undergoing high risk percutaneous coronary intervention and another for treating high risk diabetic and dialysis patients with peripheral artery disease ... Dr. Grenadier said that, "ASC slippage was very rare (1.2%), thereby avoiding 'geographic miss,' and the rate of significant dissections post-ASC was rare (1.5%) and much lower than the historic rate with... (EurekAlert!)
Inventor speaks at engineers' meeting Sep 18, 2008
The inventor of the first fully implantable ventricular assist device spoke at the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group's inaugural meeting Wednesday night ... Gerson Rosenberg, inventor of the LionHeart ventricular assist device, was the keynote speaker for the event because he used SolidWorks software in his design process ... The LionHeart is the world's first fully implantable ventricular assist device, which is used to treat congestive heart failure, according to hmc. (Daily Collegian, PA)
PMC uses heart aid device Aug 16, 2008
The device, know as VAD, or ventricular assist device, is now helping Allen's heart along. Two of the devices were employed, an RVAD and a LVAD, one for the right and one for the left ventricle. (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
North Iowan awaits heart transplant Aug 5, 2008
Loren Toomsen, of Clear Lake, hopes to soon be rid of the battery-operated Left Ventricular Assist Device that has kept him alive while awaiting a heart transplant ... Toomsen was placed on a waiting list for a heart transplant in July 2007 after undergoing an implant operation for a battery-operated Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), an experimental device that saved his life. (Mason City Globe-Gazette, IO)
Heart Support Apr 19, 2008
Thoratec technology chief Victor Poirier devised the first ventricular assist device (VAD) in 1975, when he was an engineer at research and development company Thermo Electron (nyse: - - ) ... Thoratec grossed 60% of its $235 million in revenue from its ventricular assist devices last year. (Forbes -- Business)
Asia's first artificial heart transplant in Banglore Apr 10, 2008
Patients with end-stage heart failure have limited options heart transplant or use of ventricular assist devices (VADs) ... A viable alternative is implantation of VAD. A team of doctors from Narayana Hrudayalaya lead by Dr Bagirath R and Dr T R Rajesh, along with a team lead by Dr Lyle Joyce, Surgical Director of the Ventricular Assist Device Program of Minnesota, US, successfully implanted a VAD in Venkatakrishnaiah, in a surgery that took over four hours. (Times of India)
Abiomed developing second-generation artificial heart Apr 10, 2008
The AB 5000 is a ventricular assist device, he said. It is external and used for a week to 10 days to give the heart a rest after open-heart surgery. (Danvers Herald, MA)
New research for mechanical support devices in pediatrics to be released at ISHLT Apr 10, 2008
An implantable mixed-flow ventricular assist device designed specifically for patients up to two years of age. Another mixed-flow ventricular assist device that can be implanted intravascularly or extravascularly depending on size ... Apically implanted axial-flow ventricular assist device. (EurekAlert!)
Broken hearts Apr 6, 2008
His heart struggles to pump a sufficient supply of oxygenated blood throughout his body, and a few weeks ago he was fitted with a Ventricular Assist Device to aid pumping and increase the circulation. Endacott received a phone call from Papworth the day before the hospital announced it had been asked to suspend operations, and the news came as a surprise. (Guardian Unlimited)
Cardiac Plasticity Mar 27, 2008
Atrophy of the heart is a complication of protracted bed rest, prolonged weightlessness during space travel, and mechanical unloading with a ventricular assist device. View larger version (67K). (New England Journal of Medicine)
U.S. Supreme Court prohibits suits against approved devices Feb 21, 2008
"It may thus approve devices that present great risks if they nonetheless offer great benefits in light of available alternatives," Scalia wrote, noting that the FDA approved a ventricular assist device for children with failing hearts "even though the survival rate of children using the device was less than 50 percent.". The majority was apparently persuaded by Theodore Olson, the lawyer for Medtronics, who argued before the justices in December that the FDA and not the courts was the right... (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
virtual human' to help fight disease Feb 10, 2008
Supercomputer 'virtual human' to help fight disease. By Roger Highfield, Science EditorLast Updated: 6:01pm GMT 08/02/2008. (Telegraph.co.uk)
CMU grad student winner of national award for minority engineers Feb 7, 2008
" She graduated from UNC in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in applied science and in 2004 with a master's in biomedical engineering. She expects to finish her Ph.D. by the end of this year. At CMU's laboratories in the Pittsburgh Technology Center in Hazelwood, Ms. Drummond works on a project for the National Institutes of Health in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt won a NIH contract to develop a pediatric ventricular assist device for young children suffering from congenital... (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Houston hospital hub of German heart pump trial Jan 22, 2008
The device, known as the Berlin Heart EXCOR pediatric ventricular assist device, or VAD, will be tested for 36 months. Dr. Charles Fraser Jr., chief of pediatric and congenital heart surgery at Texas Children's, is the national principal investigator for the study. (Houston Business Journal, TX)
Her Christmas Day gift was special for Mayport man Jan 21, 2008
After spending a month in St. Luke's Hospital's intensive care unit, Smith was placed on Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville's heart transplant list in February 2007, and released from the hospital with a surgically implanted artificial heart called a ventricular assist device. The VAD kept Smith alive until March 21, when he had a successful heart transplant. (Florida Times-Union)
National study will look at German-made heart pump for children needing heart transplants Jan 19, 2008
HOUSTON Jan.18, 2008 --Texas Childrens Hospital has been named the national lead center for a 12-hospital, 36-month clinical trial of the German-manufactured pediatric heart pump called Berlin Heart EXCOR Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). Charles D. Fraser, Jr., MD, chief of pediatric and congenital heart surgery at Texas Childrens and professor, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, will serve as the National Principal Investigator for the... (EurekAlert!)
Abiomed Announces Strategic Investment in WorldHeart Corporation Dec 12, 2007
Abiomed has the largest sales and clinical team in the ventricular assist device field, calling on the catheterization labs, intensive care units and heart surgery suites ... WorldHeart is currently developing the Levacor Rotary Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), which is designed to provide support for chronic heart failure patients. (Canada Newswire)
Continuous-Flow Ventricular Assist Device Nov 29, 2007
In a series of 92 consecutive patients receiving a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) before cardiac transplantation, the incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia was 26. 2 Do the authors believe that there may be an association between thrombocytopenia. (New England Journal of Medicine)
MUSC surgeon receives Order of the Palmetto Nov 27, 2007
Since Crawford's arrival, the cardiac program at MUSC has grown to offer the entire spectrum of cardiac surgery including pediatric heart surgery, transplantation, aortic surgery, coronary bypass, atrioventricular canal surgery, ventricular restoration, surgery for congestive heart failure and ventricular assist device. Crawford's major interest is in the field of congenital heart defects and mitral valves. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
China blacklists unqualified medical devices Nov 22, 2007
In April, Zhou Yiqing, 13, received a ventricular assist device, a mechanical pump that helps the heart pump blood through the body. He died a year later after further heart surgery at the same hospital. (Xinhua)
Smaller heart pump bridges time to transplant for more women Nov 5, 2007
The device, called The HeartMate II, is an implantable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) that supports the heart for patients with severe congestive heart failure and minimal medical options ... Most ventricular assist device trials before HeartMate II enrolled less than 10 percent women ... This can happen when heart failure patients are treated with a ventricular assist device and have a potentially reversible cause of the heart failure. (EurekAlert!)
Rental cap continues without challenge Oct 19, 2007
After graduating in May from Winona State University with a nursing degree, he hoped to help people needing a ventricular assist device transplant. Stuart wore such a device after having several heart attacks. (Winona Daily News, MN)
Former WAPS chairman Stuart Miller dies Oct 17, 2007
She said he wanted to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where he hoped to give people advice on living fulfilling lives after a ventricular assist device transplant, a procedure Stuart went through after several heart attacks. The device helps the heart pump and kept him going, Sheryl said. (Winona Daily News, MN)
China to restrict medical apparatus registration Sep 12, 2007
Zhou Yiqing, 13, received a ventricular assist device (VAD) in April 2004, but he died a year later after further heart surgery at the same hospital. A VAD is a mechanical pump that helps the heart pump blood through the body. (China Daily)
Device helps patients survive, regain function til transplant Aug 30, 2007
The HeartMate II left ventricular assist device, which is implanted into the body and helps pump blood in patients with severe heart failure ... The experimental device is called the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device or LVAD. It is one of four in a new generation of heart-assisting implants that push the blood out of the heart in a continuous flow, rather than a pulsing flow approach used in older devices already on the market ... The center also offers extracorporeal membrane... (EurekAlert!)
Thoratec Corporation Provides Update on Worldwide Recall of Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device Jul 20, 2007
July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thoratec Corporation is providing an update on a voluntary, worldwide recall initiated on April 9, 2007 of all paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Devices (PVAD) manufactured and distributed prior to October 2006 ... Patients who are currently being supported by a Thoratec paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device should immediately contact their doctor. (PR Newswire)
Duck Hill Baptist Church plans benefit for ailing member Jul 17, 2007
On June 1, dual ventricular assist device tubs (VADs are used in patients with heart failure who need ventricular assistance to allow the heart to rest and recover its function) were surgically attached to her heart with the devices suspended on the outside of her chest. Due to blood pressure medication during the critical time, blood did not circulate to some of Lizzie's extremities. (Grenada Daily Star, MS)
WorldHeart Announces Milestone in Miniaturized Assist Pump Development Jul 16, 2007
July 16 /CNW/ -- (Nasdaq: WHRT; TSX: WHT) -- World Heart Corporation (WorldHeart), a developer of mechanical circulatory support systems, announced a successful animal implant of a miniaturized, pediatric, ventricular assist device (VAD). The PediaFlow(TM) design also is the platform for a future minimally invasive adult VAD, intended to meet a large clinical need for earlier-stage heart failure patients. (Canada Newswire)
Thoratec Announces Completion of Randomized Enrollment in Destination Therapy Arm of HeartMate II(R) Pivotal Trial May 23, 2007
"With the completion of the DT arm, and the BTT arm last year, we believe this represents the fastest enrolling trial in the history of VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) technology," he added. The HeartMate II is a continuous flow device designed to provide long-term cardiac support for advanced-stage heart failure patients. (PR Newswire)
Benefit to help heart transplant patient May 9, 2007
The second option was a ventricular assist device, a mechanical pump that helps a heart that is too weak to pump blood through the body. But the doctor explained to Onufer that his chances of survival increased if he were to receive the TAH. "Without my family even knowing, I made the decision right then and there," Onufer said. (Doylestown Central Bucks Life, PA)
Columbus man is pioneer recipient of new artifical heart assist device May 8, 2007
Because he wasn't a strong candidate for a heart transplant, McWilliams decided to have surgery for a left ventricular assist device, which is a blood pump that helps restore heart function ... A left ventricular assist device is a surgically implanted pump that mechanically assists the failing left side of the heart ... Patients who are either suffering heart failure or awaiting a heart transplant might receive a ventricular assist device. (Columbus Telegram, NE)
Heart Pump Design Could Give Patients New Hope Apr 17, 2007
"The counter-flow pump is a bi-ventricular assist device (BVAD), meaning it supports both the left and right sides of the heart simultaneously," he said ... "He said a heart pump capable of supporting both chambers would dramatically increase patients' chance of survival. "Clinical studies around the world have found that patients who received a permanent left heart pump (left ventricular assist device) reduced their risk of dying within one year by 47 per cent," Professor Tan... (Science Daily)
Help For Heart Failure Apr 13, 2007
Left Ventricular Assist Devices , Find Out More About Left Ventricular Assist Devices - CBS News ... Left Ventricular Assist Devices ... Find Out More About Left Ventricular Assist Devices. (CBS News -- Evening News)
Left Ventricular Assist Devices and Drug Therapy in Heart Failure Feb 22, 2007
Thus, Patient 11, with a small left ventricle and normal cardiac index value, underwent implantation of a left ventricular assist device with the diagnosis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The survival rate after explantation in the study cohort (81. (New England Journal of Medicine)
SickKids sets a new Canadian record for heart transplants in 2006 Jan 16, 2007
As there is no average length of time to receive a heart, the use of leading-edge technology, such as the Berlin Heart (a ventricular assist device system), has allowed SickKids to help children survive longer waits for a suitable donor heart. To date, four patients at SickKids have been assisted by the device. (Canada Newswire)
Pioneering longer life Jan 7, 2007
A Left Ventricular Assist Device that was placed in Bruce Fulford nearly three and a half years ago was a gift of life ... Fulford and his wife, Jeanne, found one option to extend his life: a Left Ventricular Assist Device that helps the left side of the heart pump blood to the rest of the body. (Logan Herald Journal, UT)
