LVAD patients to have greater mobility and peace of mind through Transonic and ReliantHeart’s True Flow collaboration for the HeartAssist5®
Houston, Texas (PRWEB) March 26, 2015 -- ReliantHeart, Inc., an innovative supplier of advanced mechanical circulatory assist technologies, and Transonic, a supplier of precision transit-time flow measurement solutions, are collaborating on a miniature flow board that will greatly improve the efficiency of the HeartAssist5® Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). This will enable LVAD patients to experience greater mobility and peace of mind.
The Transonic flow sensor, embedded with the miniature flow board, will draw 1/6th of the power required by earlier flow board and will allow the HeartAssist5® to be compatible with a Transcutaneous Energy Transfer system (TET). This groundbreaking innovation allows for the LVAD patient to be able to disconnect from an external power source for wireless mobility as well as to be monitored remotely.
ReliantHeart’s COO Tony Williams comments, “It is essential that an implantable LVAD be very power efficient to allow a person an energetic human experience when untethered from the TET system. The internal battery must be small and store ample power for at least four hours for the TET system to be appealing.”
According to Rodger Ford, CEO of ReliantHeart, “All other competing LVADs calculate flow as a derivative of pump speed and power consumption, and the calculated flow is seldom correct. True Flow management is essential to reducing adverse events and can be monitored 24/7 by the patient’s clinician. With True Flow, if there is any drop in flow below a minimum threshold, the patient can be notified immediately. Early warning and intervention is a key to improving LVAD patient outcomes.”
Transonic flow devices are no stranger to innovation applications. They are also found in heart-lung machines, various external blood pumps, organ preservation devices and infusion systems.
Doug Collins, Transonic’s OEM Product Manager comments, “Incorporation of our flow measurement in the TET-ready HA5 is an exciting step for us that brings us full circle in our corporate history. Transonic’s Founder, Cornelis Drost came from the Netherlands to the USA on the invitation of Dr. Yukihiko Nose, to design an ultrasonic flow sensor for the artificial heart that was being developed in the early ‘70’s. It is indeed gratifying to be involved with a product that so closely aligns with Dr. Nose’s project over 40 years ago. It was a visionary project then and is still a visionary project now. Reliant Heart is really charting the course for the future VADs.”
ReliantHeart, Inc. is an innovative supplier of advanced mechanical circulatory assist technologies that are changing the approach to the treatment of advanced heart failure. It develops and manufactures the HeartAssist5® Ventricular Assist Device. ReliantHeart’s roots are in Houston, Texas, where it has been generously influenced by the transplant centers of Texas Heart, Methodist DeBakey and Memorial Hermann, and its technology originally inspired by NASA, the Johnson Space Center and Baylor School of Medicine.
Transonic Systems Inc. is a global manufacturer of innovative biomedical measurement equipment. Founded in 1983, Transonic sells gold standard transit-time ultrasound flowmeters and monitors for surgical, hemodialysis, pediatric critical care, perfusion, interventional radiology and research applications. In addition, Transonic provides pressure and pressure volume systems, laser Doppler flowmeters and telemetry systems.
Diana Dessy, ReliantHeart, Inc., http://www.reliantheart.com, +1 5203185259, [email protected]
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