World Heart Corporation, an Oakland, CA firm, is reporting that a miniaturized PediaFlow™ ventricular assist device has been successfully implanted and tested in an animal model. The device is based on the Levacor centrifugal rotary pump technology reported by us last year. This life-saving pediatric device was developed by a consortium that encompasses the University of Pittsburgh, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Artificial Heart Program at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, LaunchPoint Technologies, Carnegie-Mellon University and WorldHeart.
More about the device:
The PediaFlow VAD is an implantable, magnetically levitated blood pump based on WorldHeart’s proprietary rotary VAD MagLev(TM) technology. In its pediatric configuration, the device is designed to provide a flow rate from 0.3 to 1.5 L/min…
Designed for children up to 2 years old, PediaFlow uses a magnetically-levitated impeller that increases the pump’s life span, provides better flow rates and drastically reduces blood damage.
Product page: PediaFlow™ Ventricular Assist Device …
Press release: WorldHeart Announces Milestone in Miniaturized Assist Pump Development …
PediaFlow project page…
Patient Adaptive Feedback Controllers for Heart Assist Devices from University of Pittsburgh…