• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, June 14, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Bioengineering

New implantable VAD for severe heart failure in kids shows encouraging results in sheep

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 17, 2016
in Bioengineering
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

The number of children with severe heart failure is increasing. Over the last decade, ventricular assist devices (VADs) have become the standard of care in the management of severe heart failure. In adults, implantable VADs (i.e. pumps placed within the chest) are used exclusively, due in part to favorable risk profiles and, more importantly, the opportunity for home discharge and outpatient management. By contrast, no implantable VADs designed specifically for small children (approximately 5 to 20 kg) are currently available. The result is that the vast majority of pediatric patients with severe heart failure are currently managed with paracorporeal VADs (i.e. pumps sitting outside the body), which in general are associated with higher risk profiles and require hospital management. In a presentation at the 96th AATS Annual Meeting, researchers describe testing of a pediatric-specific implantable VAD in living animals.

Baltimore, MD, May 16, 2016 – For children with severe heart failure, the only available means of life support are ventricular assist devices (VADs) placed outside the body. These devices are associated with significant risks and the need for hospital management. In conjunction with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, investigators have now developed a miniaturized implantable VAD for small children (the Infant Jarvik 2015). The results of testing the device in live sheep are presented at the 96th AATS Annual Meeting.

“The very favorable results of this study will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for determination of its suitability to initiate a clinical trial called the PumpKIN (Pump for Kids, Infants, and Neonates) Trial. We are hoping the trial will begin late this year. This study will be an important milestone in the new era of pediatric heart failure management with implantable VADs,” explained lead investigator Iki Adachi, MD, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston.

While there are VADs designed for adults, there are no implantable VADs specifically designed for small children. The current study aims to address this unmet need. The Infant Jarvik 2015 is an implantable axial-flow VAD. Compared to its predecessor the Infant Jarvik 2000, in vitro testing demonstrated that it offers significantly improved hemolysis profile, which is one of the most important challenges in development of small pumps. The Infant Jarvik 2015 offers up to 3.0 liters per minute flow rate, which is approximately double the flow its predecessor can provide. This important difference in flow capability would suggest that the new pump could be used in wider range of children.

In the current report, researchers implanted the pump in ten sheep through the apex of the left ventricle. The outflow graft was attached to the proximal descending aorta. Eight of the ten sheep completed the study and remained in good health, as indicated by appropriate weight gain, over a period of one to two months. The remaining two animals did not complete the study due to complications that were not directly related to the pump.

The most significant finding was very minimal hemolysis (premature destruction of red blood cells) despite high pump speed (the pump rotor spins up to 18,000 times per minutes). In six animals, there were small kidney infarcts, which is often seen in this type of animal studies in part due to inability to fully anticoagulate these animals. The entire VAD flow pathway was clean, without thrombi or fibrin deposits except in one.

“This preclinical study not only demonstrates the clinical feasibility of the new device, it also provides important insights into how this device may be managed when used clinically in pediatric patients,” emphasized Dr. Adachi.

###

Media Contact

Nicole Baritot
[email protected]
978-299-4520

http://www.aats.org

The post New implantable VAD for severe heart failure in kids shows encouraging results in sheep appeared first on Scienmag.

Share30Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Why is the first Turkish bioengineering promotion website, Biyomuhendislik.com, so important?

February 4, 2023
blank

Robo-fish

September 19, 2016

Mice born from ‘tricked’ eggs

September 17, 2016

UCLA researchers use stem cells to grow 3-D lung-in-a-dish

September 16, 2016
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Green brake lights in the front could reduce accidents

    Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish Road Accident Rates

    158 shares
    Share 63 Tweet 40
  • New Study Uncovers Unexpected Side Effects of High-Dose Radiation Therapy

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines Eradicate Disease in Preclinical Studies

    68 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • How Scientists Unraveled the Mystery Behind the Gigantic Size of Extinct Ground Sloths—and What Led to Their Demise

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Are Traditional Podcasters Becoming Obsolete? AI-Driven Podcasts Pave the Way for Accessible Science

Rewrite The untranslatability of environmental affective scales: insights from indigenous soundscape perceptions in China as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

Rewrite Two frontiers: Illinois experts combine forces to develop novel nanopore sensing platform this news headline for the science magazine post

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.