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SynCardia Systems, Inc. manufactures
the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart
(TAH‑t). This medical device is the modern
version of the Jarvik 7 artificial heart first
implanted into Barney Clark in 1982. The CardioWest
temporary Total Artificial Heart is the only FDA
and CE approved temporary Total Artificial Heart
in the world. The TAH‑t is used as a bridge-to-heart
transplant device for transplant eligible patients
dying from end stage biventricular failure.
To save the lives
of these morbidly ill patients, the diseased heart
is removed and the CardioWest TAH‑t is implanted.
The TAH‑t pumps more blood, up to 9.5 liters
per minute, than any ventricular assist device.
This higher level of perfusion helps patients
regain their strength, making them better heart
transplant candidates.
In a pivotal clinical
study (NEJM 2004; 351: 859-867), these patients
were successfully transplanted 79% of the time.
One-year and five-year survival rates after heart
transplant among these patients were 86 and 64
percent.
Over the last three
decades, the incidence of Congestive Heart Failure
(CHF) has increased by a factor of five. The TAH‑t
is the mechanical circulatory support device that
is often capable of saving the sickest of these
patients. SynCardia Systems, Inc. was founded
in 2001 by Marvin J. Slepian, M.D., Richard G.
Smith, MSEE, and surgeon Jack Copeland, M.D. |
