There are two types of “bypasses” involved in a cardiac bypass procedure. One bypass is the goal of the surgery: to bypass the cholesterol plug inside the coronary artery, usually using a piece of the vein. The other bypass is a means of doing so: in order to operate on a coronary artery, on the surface of the heart, the heart is stopped (pharmacologically) and the patient is placed on a bypass machine that pumps blood instead and around the heart (many cardiac bypass procedures nowadays are done on a beating heart, though). Bypass machines are big and clunky. In addition, the multitude of tubes through which blood is flowing is detrimental for the blood, especially for its coagulation system.
Well, here is a new system to watch for. The Houston Business Journal reports:
NovoSci Inc. announced Monday that the Washington, D.C., V.A. Medical Center is actively using NovoSci’s new miniaturized bypass technology on all types of cardiac surgery procedures.
Medical device developer NovoSci is headquartered in The Woodlands. Its primary focus is on the cardiovascular market.
The hospital is the first VAMC and regional Washington, D.C.-based cardiac surgery center to be using NovoSci’s technology, according to company officials. The medical center has performed more than a dozen cases using the firm’s device, The Ready System 200, in the past two months.
The Ready System 200 was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the U.S. last year.
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“The conventional pump can be very stressful for some patients, making survival much more challenging for the sickest,” notes Dr. Gregory D. Trachiotis, associate chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery at the DCVAMC.
“The mini-pump has big advantages over traditional cardiopulmonary bypass,” says Trachiotis, who believes the mini-pump will eventually replace the conventional form of CPB for most cardiac procedures.
More info and videos at NovoSci’s Ready System headquarters…