Abiomed Announces MIS Cardiac Assist Device at AHA Scientific Sessions

Abiomed announces Symphony™, a new synchronized minimally invasive implantable cardiac assist device.

Abiomed Inc, has chosen the venue of this year’s American Heart Association Scientific Sessions to announce Symphony™, a new synchronized minimally invasive implantable cardiac assist device, designed to treat chronic patients with moderate heart failure by improving patient hemodynamics, and potentially improving quality of life. The device is designed with the primary goal of stabilizing the progression of heart failure and/or recovering/remodeling the heart. Prior to this, no current implantable cardiac assist device had been designed for heart recovery or remodeling.

The small, minimally invasive device is remotely implanted and requires a simple “pacemaker” pocket insertion, avoiding a sternotomy. It is designed to recover and/or remodel the patient’s heart muscle with the intent to explant the device after extended support at home. Symphony is designed to offer the following potential benefits for heart failure patients:

  • Cost-effective solution to improve patient hemodynamics
  • Alleviate heart failure and angina symptoms
  • Preserve end-organ function

Symphony’s simple design enables physicians to implant the device with a single graft to the subclavian artery remotely from the heart. A small pocket under the skin to hold the device is made using the same incision. The Symphony is synchronized to the heart through subcutaneous electrocardiogram leads and provides an output of 3.0 L/min at 100 beats per minute and is designed to potentially:

  • Reduce the afterload, decreasing the work of the left ventricle
  • Increase the cardiac output and mean arterial pressure
  • Increase the coronary and systemic blood flow

Symphony is designed to be a cost-effective alternative for New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III patients who are not amenable to revascularization, do not respond to inotropes and/or cardiac resynchronization therapies (CRT), and continue to experience poor quality of life with frequent hospital admissions. Additionally, these patients maintain all future options such as medications, adjunctive therapies (pharma, stem cell) as well as heart transplantation or implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs).

Symphony’s simple design will provide a lower price point than conventional implantable LVADs. The minimally invasive implantation should lead to a shorter length of stay before the patient is discharged home.

The product has been under development for several years and has solid patent coverage. The product was unveiled today in a presentation made by Robert Dowling, M.D., at the American Heart Association (AHA) 2011 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida. The first-in-man procedure is expected early next year outside of the United States. For more information on Symphony and to view the AHA 2011 slide presentation, visit www.abiomed.com.

Source: Abiomed

published: November 15, 2011 in: Cardio, Congresses and Meetings, Launches / Withdrawals, News

Most read

Latest

^