Press Release:

Dr. Bartley Griffith, University of Maryland Medical Center

TUCSON, Ariz. – June 13, 2007 – Bartley Griffith, M.D., and his cardiac transplant team from the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) will complete phase one, of the four-part CardioWest TAH-t Certification Program on June 14 and 15. The training will be presented by Dr. Jack Copeland and other professionals at University Medical Center, in Tucson.

Copeland made history in August 1985, when he became the first surgeon to use the artificial heart as a bridge-to-transplant (BTT). Michael Drummond was implanted with this heart on August 29 and successfully transplanted on September 7. Less than two months later, Dr. Griffith performed the second successful BTT using this device. Griffith’s patient, Tom Gaidosh, lived for 11 years with his transplanted heart while Drummond lived five years.

The use of the artificial heart as a bridge-to-transplant marked a medical milestone because the device was designed and then used as a permanent artificial heart from 1982 to 1985. The BTT was necessary because it was feared that both patients were unlikely to survive until a donor heart could be found. Since 1985, the sole use of the artificial heart has been as a BTT. Over 650 patients’ lives have been prolonged on this device, accounting for over 100 patient years of life.

“We’re excited about using the modern version of this heart. The CardioWest is the only FDA-approved temporary Total Artificial Heart in the world,” Griffith said. “Thanks to the work of Dr. Copeland and his team at University Medical Center, surgery procedures, anticoagulation and patient care protocols have all improved dramatically.”

TAH-t Doubles Odds of Living Another Year – Heart transplant eligible patients, who are near death from end-stage biventricular heart failure, increase their odds of living another year from 31 percent to 70 percent, when they are bridged-to-transplant with the CardioWest TAH-t, based on a comparison with a set of historical control patients who were matched to the patients receiving the artificial heart (NEJM 2004; 351: 859-867).

Griffith, Chief of Cardiac Surgery and Cardiothoracic Transplantation at UMMC, has directed more than 1,200 heart transplants and 600 lung transplants.

Some of the world’s finest hospitals and cardiac surgical teams have become TAH-t certified centers. Upon successful completion of certification, UMMC will become the 10th institution in the United States and the 21st in the world to use the CardioWest TAH-t as a bridge-to-transplant.

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About the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart
SynCardia Systems, Inc. (Tucson, AZ) is the privately-held manufacturer of the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart. Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to transplant for people dying from end-stage biventricular heart failure. There have been more than 1,000 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accounting for more than 250 patient years of life.

Similar to a heart transplant, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart ventricles and the four heart valves, eliminating the symptoms and source of end-stage biventricular failure. Unlike a donor heart, the Total Artificial Heart is immediately available at SynCardia Certified Centers and does not require expensive anti-rejection medication, which can cause subsequent complications. It is the only device that provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 liters per minute through both ventricles. This high volume of safe blood flow helps speed the recovery of vital organs, helping make the patient a better transplant candidate.

SynCardia Ranked #20 Among World's 50 Most Innovative Companies
In March 2011, Fast Company magazine ranked SynCardia #20 in its annual list of the "World's 50 Most Innovative Companies" for "giving mobility to artificial heart recipients." Weighing 13.5 pounds, SynCardia's Freedom® portable driver is the world's first wearable driver designed to power the Total Artificial Heart both inside and outside the hospital. The Freedom driver is CE approved for use in Europe and undergoing an FDA-approved Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study in the U.S.

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Media Contact:
Don Isaacs
Vice President of Communications
SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Cell: (520) 955-0660