New Device Being Developed for Children with Failing Ventricles

In exciting news for children with heart conditions, the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation has announced its decision to provide a $50,000 grant to Procyrion, a medical device company based in Houston, Texas, in partnership with maxon precision motor.

The grant will be used to adapt the adult Aortix device for use in children. The adult Aortix device assists people with heart failure and is inserted by cardiologists without surgery by using a catheter in the femoral artery and delivered to the thoracic aorta. The pump is affixed to the aortic wall using nickel-titanium anchors and reduces the labor of the heart while enhancing the blood flow within the body by increasing the flow of the aorta. By altering the adult Aortix device, the new device would be able to be inserted into children with single ventricle heart defects.

“This is a promising opportunity for some of our patients with failing ventricles, as there aren’t many pediatric devices available,” said Dr. Yasir Qureshi of Mayo Clinic’s Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. “By using this device, some patients with failing Fontan circulation may have the option of a non-invasive procedure to improve their heart function”.

While this device in still in the product development stage and has not yet been approved for use in humans, funding for medical developments such as this provides hope for the future of patients with chronic heart failure.

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The Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is a collaborative network of specialists bonded by the vision of delaying or preventing heart failure for individuals affected by congenital heart defects including HLHS. The specialized team is addressing the various aspects of these defects by using research and clinical strategies ranging from basic science to diagnostic imaging to regenerative therapies.