• Popular
    • Medicine
    • Radiology
    • Cardiology
    • Surgery
    • Nanomedicine
    • Military Medicine
    • Rehab
  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS
  • Submit PR
  • Log in
Medgadget
Medgadget
  • Popular
    • Medicine
      Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat

      Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat

      Nanopore Sensor to Study Protein Aggregation in Neurodegeneration

      Nanopore Sensor to Study Protein Aggregation in Neurodegeneration

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

    • Radiology
      Ultrasound Tornado Rapidly Disrupts Blood Clots

      Ultrasound Tornado Rapidly Disrupts Blood Clots

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

      Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth

      Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth

      Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces

      Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces

    • Cardiology
      Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

      Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

      Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look

      Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look

      Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

      Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

    • Surgery
      Microneedle Bandage for Hemostatic Control

      Microneedle Bandage for Hemostatic Control

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

    • Nanomedicine
      Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

      Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

      Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System

      Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System

      Improved Membrane Coating for Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles

      Improved Membrane Coating for Anti-Cancer Nanoparticles

      Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors

      Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors

    • Military Medicine
      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fabric Makes Electricity from Movement to Power Wearables

      Fabric Makes Electricity from Movement to Power Wearables

      Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism

      Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism

    • Rehab
      Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People

      Smart Walking Stick for Visually Impaired People

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy

      Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy

      Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy

      Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control

      Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control

  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Log in
  • Submit PR
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Synchronized Implantable Heart Pump Could Be Disruptive Technology

November 16th, 2011 Brian Klein Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Exclusive, News

Abiomed (Danvers, MA) has announced the introduction of a synchronized minimally invasive implantable cardiac assist device at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, FL. Developed to treat patients with chronic moderate heart failure, the Symphony improves coronary perfusion and cardiac output. The device is the first implantable cardiac assist device designed for heart recovery or remodeling, according to Abiomed. According to the company, the system can be implanted in a patient in roughly 30 minutes. The pump is intended on being explanted after extended support at home.

Medgadget had the chance to talk to Robert Dowling, MD, who helped develop the device, to hear what he had to say about it.

“Part of the beauty of the device is its simplicity,” Dr Dowling told Medgadget. “if I were talking to cardiologists about the device, I would say that we have a pump that we place with a minor operation. And I would say: ‘You know where you put pacemakers? That’s where I put this pump.'” After they are told that, they usually do a double take and say ‘really?'” Dowling says. “‘Yes, really'”, he tells them. “We just sew one graft to the subclavian artery. And after that, the pump’s implanted,” Dowling adds. “And then, usually by that time, you’ve got their attention.”
The pump is timed to an EKG so that it fills when the heart beats making it easier for the heart to beat. “The device decreases the work of the left ventricle and it provides after-load reduction,” Dowling explains.  “When I explain [how the device works] to my buddies, I say it’s like if you are trying to bench press and you put a little bit too much on the bar and somebody comes up and kind of gives you a boost every time you lift it up,” he says.

“The other way it helps is while the heart is resting it ejects,” Dowling says. That helps the heart by giving it more blood flow but it also helps the entire body. “[In patients who would need this pump] there’s this imbalance between how much work the heart is doing and how much blood flow it’s getting.” In such cases, the heart is doing too much work and getting too little blood flow. “So, one of the really neat things about this pump is it addresses that ratio in both ways: it decreases the work and it increases blood flow,” Dowling says. “It not only helps the heart by increasing blood flow but it also helps the kidneys, liver, all the other organs by increasing blood flow to them. If someone’s heart is beating 100 times a minute, that would be putting out an extra three liters a minute,” he explains.  “We get an advantage coming and going,” Dowling says. “We get an advantage when the blood goes into the pump and while the heart is resting, we get an advantage in improving the blood supply to the body.”

We asked Dowling about the market potential of the device and he said he had high hopes for its ability to help many patients. “Our feeling is, if somebody—and we hope that somebody is us—develops a device that can be put in with a simple operation and is simple for the patient to use and does not require long hospitalization and really help the heart, then I think that is going to end up being a disruptive technology. And we think it is this device. Now, I can’t tell you that is this device because we don’t have patient data yet. But that’s what we think.” The pump is also expected to be substantially more cost-effective than conventional implantable LVADs.

Dowling explained that he worked with a team years ago that laid out some basic goals for a “newer, kinder, gentler next-generation pump.” The guidelines for the device prescribed that it did not require a major operation, that it be easy to implant, be effective while the heart rests, and that it would improved patients’ quality of life. “This device meets all of those goals that we set at the beginning of this project about eight or nine years ago. So, I guess that’s why I seem super-excited about it.”

When developing the device, Dowling’s research group received more than $6 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “When you submit a grant to the NIH, one of the things they look for is that a problem with a major clinical need is addressed. The other thing they look for is the use of an innovative approach,” Dowling says. “Every time we submitted this grant, we got funded. We got great feedback.”

According to Abiomed, the first-in-man clinical trials involving the device are anticipated to be performed in early 2012.

Press release: Abiomed Announces Symphony, an Implantable Synchronized Heart Pump Designed for Chronic Heart Failure Patients, at AHA 2011

Flashback: Impella Miniature Heart Pump Demonstrates Cost-Effectiveness in Study; Abiomed Impella 2.5 Left Ventricular Assist Device Demo

Brian Klein

Sponsored
C-mo Medical Solutions extends seed investment round to €4.8 million to transform cough monitoring

C-mo Medical Solutions extends seed investment round to €4.8 million to transform cough monitoring

New Clarius Power Fan HD3 Delivers a First for Handheld Ultrasound: Continuous Scanning

New Clarius Power Fan HD3 Delivers a First for Handheld Ultrasound: Continuous Scanning

Fluidx Unveils New Embolic for Neurovascular Use

Fluidx Unveils New Embolic for Neurovascular Use

Annalise.ai and Nuance Communications (a Microsoft Company) Announce Key Partnership to Improve Patient Outcomes with Workflow-Integrated AI

Annalise.ai and Nuance Communications (a Microsoft Company) Announce Key Partnership to Improve Patient Outcomes with Workflow-Integrated AI

PT Genie Unveils New Brand Identity Reflecting Company’s Transformation and Focus on the Global Future of AI and Machine Learning in Digital Healthcare

interviews & reviews
Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget Visits Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget Visits Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical

Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical

Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical

In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke

In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke

Symani Microsurgical Robotic System: Interview with Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Microinstruments

Symani Microsurgical Robotic System: Interview with Mark Toland, CEO of Medical Microinstruments

  • Subscribe
  • Contact us
  • Submit
  • About
  • Back to top
Medgadget

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

  • About
  • Editorial policies
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Submit press release
  • Advertise
© Medgadget, Inc. All rights reserved. | The Medical Revolution Will Be Blogged.
Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Thank you!
Posting....
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email