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CardioWest TAH-t For Patients For Physicians Newsroom and Resources

News Coverage:
CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t)

  • Highest bridge to human heart transplant rate of any heart device, 79%*
  • Over 715 implants account for more than 125 patient years on the TAH-t

  • *New England Journal of Medicine 2004; 351: 859-867
 
Sydney, Australia
July 24, 2008

Australia’s Largest Transplant Hospital To Begin Certification Training
To Become Asia-Pacific Regional Training Center
for CardioWest Artificial Heart

Paris Training Will Feature Roundtable Discussion
with International Artificial Heart Proctors

On July 28 and 29, Director of Cardiopulmonary Transplant and Cardiothoracic Unit Dr. Philip Spratt, Cardiothoracic and Transplant surgeon Dr. Paul Jansz and the cardiac transplant team from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia, will travel to Paris to begin the first phase of certification training for the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t)...
read more

Print:
Herald Sun


Inside Arizona Business
June 22, 2008

"This week, a special edition of our show as we profile SynCardia Systems, a small Tucson company that has become the worldwide leader in its industry, the manufacture of artificial hearts..."

Watch Video 29:02 - Opens in a new window


Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
May 1, 2008

Final Medicare Decision Provides
Maximum Reimbursement to Hospitals
for CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart

CMS Reverses 1986 National Non-Coverage Decision for the Artificial Heart

On May 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final National Coverage Decision (NCD) to reimburse the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t) as part of FDA studies that meet CMS specifications... read more

Print:
Inside Tucson Business | Sidebar
Medical Device Daily
Tucson Citizen | Opinion
Arizona Daily Star
CMS Press Release

TV:
KOLD - News 13 Tucson

Radio:
KUAT Arizona Spotlight with Mark McLemore

This story also appeared on:

eMaxHealth Medical News Today
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report American Medical News
Medicare Newsline Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network
News-Medical.net Calibre Macro World
The Happy Hospitalist DotMed News
Transplant Views Digital News Direct
The Sentinel (Friend, NE) The Palm Beach Post
Austin-American Statesman Congressional Quarterly



Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
February 1, 2008

Preliminary Decision by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Favors Reimbursement For CardioWest Artificial Heart

On February 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that after completing a review of its 1986 national non-coverage policy for artificial hearts, its preliminary decision is to provide reimbursement for patients who receive the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t) as part of FDA studies that meet CMS specifications. Following a public comment period, CMS will post its final decision on May 1, 2008... read more

Print:
Tucson Citizen
Arizona Daily Star
CMS Press Release


Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan. 3, 2008
Artificial Heart Returns to Utah

I-Med is 12th U.S. Hospital to Begin Certification Training

On Jan. 3, I-Med (Intermountain Medical Center, formerly LDS hospital) will complete the second phase of certification training for the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t), bringing the artificial heart one step closer to returning to Utah. The third and final phase will be the proctored first implant of the artificial heart. ... read more

Television:
NBC Salt Lake City

Print:
Deseret Morning News #1
Deseret Morning News #2

Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov. 30 & Dec. 1, 2007
What Ever Happened to the Jarvik 7?

University of Utah Symposium Marks 25th Anniversary
of Artificial Heart Implanted into Barney Clark

On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, more than 200 surgeons, biomedical engineers and heart device executives gathered at the University of Utah to celebrate the first implant of the Jarvik 7 artificial heart on Dec. 1, 1982, and present the current state of artificial heart pumping technology... read more

Television:
NBC Salt Lake City

Print:
Deseret Morning News
BYU NewsNet

Radio:
KCPW Utah Public Radio


Phoenix, Ariz.
September 21, 2007

Three Hearts, Second Chance at Life for Gilbert Woman

In a period of just 13 days, a 56-year-old Gilbert, Ariz., woman has felt the beating of three different hearts - all within her own chest: First, her own, failing heart. Then, in what is considered groundbreaking in the Valley, an artificial heart. And, on day 13, a donor heart ... read more

Television:
Fox 10 Phoenix
ABC 15 Phoenix
NBC 4 Tucson

Print:
•Arizona Republic #1 (no longer available)
•Arizona Republic #2 (no longer available)
East Valley Tribune

Online:
SpiritIndia.com


Kampen, Netherlands
August 29, 2007

Built by the Giants of Medicine,
CardioWest™ Artificial Heart Celebrates 60th Birthday

Sixty years ago, Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D., the world's most accomplished and prolific creator of artificial organs, started work that led to the creation of the world's first and only FDA and CE approved temporary artificial heart: the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t)... read more

Radio:
RTV Oost
English & Dutch
(click headphones in middle of page to listen)

Print:

Short article by Netherlands National News Agency:
Dutch | English translation
Feature article by Netherlands National News Agency:
Dutch
(no longer available)| English translation


University of Michigan Transplant Center
August 16, 2007

CardioWest™ Artificial Heart Saves Michigan Man

It was a drastic measure for a desperately ill patient. Just 41 years old, Phil Hall of Belleville, Mich., was suffering from congestive heart failure. He needed a heart transplant to survive, but doctors were unable to find a donor heart... read more

Television:
ClickonDetroit.com (NBC TV News)

Print:
The Detroit News (no longer available)
The Belleville View
The University Record

Radio:
Detroit News/Talk 760 WJR

Online:
SpiritIndia.com


Penn State Hershey Medical Center
May 22, 2007

Man with Artificial Heart Listed for Transplant

A Halifax-area man who recently received an artificial heart has been put on the list for a heart transplant.

•Penn State Live (no longer available)
•State College (no longer available)


Penn State Hershey Medical Center
May 8, 2007

Penn State Hershey Medical Center Becomes the 9th U.S. Center
to Implant the CardioWest TAH-t

A 60-year-old man suffering from end stage heart failure received the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart on Wednesday. He'll use the artificial heart while he waits for a heart donor. Below are links to this story:

Penn State Live
•CBS News Harrisburg, PA (no longer available)
•The Patriot News
(no longer available)


Various Sources
February/March 2007
46-Year-Old Man Receives First CardioWest Artificial Heart in Northeast U.S.
From Hospital University Pennsylvania Cardiac Surgeons
 
Television:
Channel 3 CBS Philadelphia
Channel 6 ABC Philadelphia
Channel 10 NBC Philadelphia
Channel 29 FOX Philadelphia
 
Print:
The Daily Pennsylvanian (2/20/07)
Philadelphia Daily News (2/19/07)
Ambler Gazette (3/07/07)
Philadelphia Business Journal (2/19/07)
 
Radio:
KYW Newsradio (2/20/07)
 
Online:
• MacroWorld Investor (2/20/07) (no longer available)
MediLexicon (2/22/07)
AScribe (2/19/07)

This story also appeared on television news in:

New York, NY

Los Angeles, CA

Washington, D.C.

Denver, CA

Norfolk, VA

Albany, NY

Jacksonville, FL

Nashville, TN

Pittsburgh, PA

Charlotte, NC

Oklahoma City, OK

Miami, FL

Houston, TX

Portland, ME

Santa Barbara, CA

Eugene, OR

Harrisburg, PA

Ft. Myers, FL

Columbia, SC

Clarksburg, WV

Bend, OR


Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 13, 2007

A Broken Heart Replaced; After Years of Relying on Medical Innovations, Man Gets a Transplant


Foothills Magazine
February 2007
Local Icon; Pioneering Heart Surgeon, Dr. Jack Copeland Interviewed about the CardioWest™ TAH-t

"Dr. Jack Copeland's knowledge of the heart has helped save hundreds of lives."

National Geographic
Cover Story
February 2007

The cover story for the National Geographic February issue, "Healing the Heart", features the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart. Click the links below for the article, multimedia presentation and more.

A Change of Heart: A CardioWest TAH-t patient talks about his life, what it was like to be on an artificial heart and his hopes after transplant.
Matters of the Heart: A multimedia presentation of the article
Feature: The complete text of the article
Photo Gallery: A gallery of the photos used in the article
On Assignment: Notes from photographer Rob Clark


Various German Publications
December 2006

For the first time in Bavaria, a patient with severe cardiac disease receives a total artificial heart transplant at the University Clinic Erlangen. The two articles below are translated from German publications:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
December 10, 2006

Artificial Heart, Real Hope

"Beating in his chest is a technological wonder, but it's just a temporary fix."

Various Publications
November 2006

Missouri Hospital First in Region to Implant
CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart


"Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis will join eight other U.S. medical centers in January when it begins implanting an artificial heart approved by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago."

Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 30, 2006

Transplant Patients Honor UMC

"Carrie Coykendall, a recent UA graduate, said she volunteers at UMC with patients who are on artificial heart devices while waiting for a heart transplant. "It is really encouraging and exciting to come here and meet people who have made it through that process and are doing really well years after their transplant" said Coykendall. Bill Wohl, a Scottsdale resident, is one of the 70 patients who were part of an experiment that helped get FDA approval for the CardioWest artificial heart."

Various Publications
September 2006
University Hospital of Cologne to be Certified to Implant
CardioWest™ TAH‑t; Sixth in Germany -- 17th in the World


"On Sept. 4 and 5, Dr. Thorsten Wahlers, director and chief surgeon of the department of cardiothoracic surgery, and members of the cardiac transplant team from the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany will begin training to implant the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH‑t). "

Various Publications
August 2006
Aurora St. Luke's Cardiac Team Implants Artificial Heart

"A cardiac surgery team led by Alfred Tector, M. D., has performed the state's first implant of the only FDA approved temporary Total Artificial Heart at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee."

Various Publications
July 2006
SynCardia Receives CE Mark to Market EXCOR TAH‑t Mobile Driver
with CardioWest™ TAH‑t


"SynCardia Systems Inc. has received a CE mark to market a modified version of the Berlin Heart, AG EXCOR(R) Mobile Drive Unit, called the EXCOR TAH‑t, with the CardioWest™ TAH‑t in Europe."

American Heart Journal
July 2006

"Current Status of the Artificial Heart"
CardioWest™ labeled ‘gold standard’:
"The authors concluded that the CardioWest™ TAH was not only safe and efficient for bridging patients to transplant, but also consider its use a gold standard in treating critically ill patients requiring mechanical circulatory support.” More

CardioWest™ TAH‑t Sales Potential:
"Based on reports from the Institute of Medicine and several NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) workshops, 50,000 to 100,000 patients each year could benefit from mechanical circulatory support, of which 5% to 10% would be served best with a TAH." More


Various Publications
July 2006
German Heart Center Performs Its 100th Implant of the CardioWest TAH‑t

On June 30th, the Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, performed its first implant of the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart.

Various Publications
June 2006
Ohio State University Medical Center Performs Its First TAH‑t Implant

On May 26th, cardiac surgeons at Ohio State Medical Center performed their first implant of the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart.

Various Publications
May 2006
CardioWest TAH‑t Bridges First VCU Patient to Human Heart Transplant

On Wednesday May 24th, 51 days after receiving a CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart - a first of its kind implant at VCU - a Virginia man received a donor heart transplant. Below are four articles that were published:
  • Richmond Times-Dispatch (5/26/06) (no longer available)
  • Richmond.com (6/7/06) (no longer available)
  • WAVY-TV (no longer available)
  • The Roanoke Times (6/16/06)

Genetic Engineering News
May 16, 2006
Berlin Heart Receives CE Mark to Market Modified Excor Mobile Driving Unit
with the CardioWest™ TAH‑t in Europe

"Known as 'Big Blue' for its light blue exterior finish and its washing machine-sized dimensions, the 400-pound driver has been used since the 1980s. In Europe, they are being replaced, outside the operating room, by the Excor portable driver, a 20-pound unit that allows stable artificial heart patients to recover at home."

Arizona Daily Star
April 27, 2006
CardioWest™ - Heart Swap-Out, Taught Step by Step
"You, too, can implant an artificial heart. Or so it seemed this week as Dr. Jack Copeland trained an East Coast surgical team at University Medical Center."

Treatment of Advanced Heart Disease
Spring 2006
The SynCardia CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart (PDF File)
Full Chapter from Treatment of Advanced Heart Disease, Edited by Kenneth L. Baughman and William A. Baumgartner.

Various Publications
April 2006
VCU in the News with First CardioWest TAH‑t implant
On Monday, April 3, 2006, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, implanted its first CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart. On Tuesday, following the surgery, VCU conducted a News Conference. Many articles were aired and published. Below are four of these articles:
  • Richmond Times-Dispatch (4/7/06) (no longer available)
  • MedGadget (4/7/06)
  • Richmond.com (4/5/06) (no longer available)
  • RxPG News (4/5/06)

Cardiovascular Device Update
March 31, 2006
SynCardia Marks Profit Milestones (PDF file)
"Rodger Ford, CEO of SynCardia, maker of the only FDA-approved total artificial heart, last month at an investor meeting promised that the company will move from "lifesaving science venture" to profitability this year."

Medical Device Daily
February 16, 2006
SynCardia, Berlin Heart Mark Profit and Clinical Milestones (PDF file)
"Two companies focused on the end-stage heart assist sector had good news for investors and patients over the past week."

Arizona Daily Star
January 21, 2006
Firm's Pace Picks Up
"The CEO of the Tucson-based company that makes the only FDA-approved total artificial heart told investors Friday that 2006 will be the year that SynCardia Systems Inc. turns the corner from a life-saving science project to a profitable business."

Arizona Daily Star
December 22, 2005
SynCardia Turning to Marketing
"Since becoming the first artificial heart to win federal approval for commercial use last year, the CardioWest total artificial heart has been a medical success. Now, new management at CardioWest maker SynCardia Systems Inc. of Tucson is looking to translate that clinical success to the marketplace."

KVOA NBC4 Tucson
December 22, 2005
Maker of Artificial Heart Looks to Expand Business
"The Tucson company that made the first artificial heart to win federal approval for commercial use is looking to translate its clinical success to the marketplace."

Red Orbit Breaking News
November 4, 2005
SynCardia Systems, Inc. Earns Frost & Sullivan
Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award
for CardioWest Temporary Total Artificial Heart

"SynCardia Systems, Inc., a privately held developer of biomechanical cardiac replacement and mechanical circulatory support devices, has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award in the cardiovascular medical device market. The Award recognizes the company that has demonstrated superior entrepreneurial ability in its industry and signifies the company's identification of a unique and revolutionary product solution with significant market potential. The Award commends SynCardia Systems, Inc. for its revolutionary CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH‑t)."

Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network
October 20, 2005
SynCardia Recognizes One Year Milestone of FDA Approval
of CardioWest Temporary Total Artificial Heart

"SynCardia Systems, Inc., a privately held developer of biomechanical cardiac replacement and mechanical circulatory support devices, today recognizes the one year milestone of the FDA approval of its CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH‑t). The CardioWest™ TAH‑t is the only FDA approved device capable of providing full circulatory restoration in morbidly ill patients with irreversible bi-ventricular failure, ultimately bridging them to transplantation when a donor heart becomes available."

Cardiac Consult Magazine
Fall 2005
Newly Approved Total Artificial Heart Restores
Hemodynamic and Clinical Stability
(PDF file)
"The Cleveland Clinic Heart Center has added the CardioWest total artificial heart to its armamentarium of treatments for patients with congestive heart failure awaiting transplantation."

Inside Tucson Business
September 12, 2005
And the Beat Goes On...
"It has been a long road to the point where SynCardia Systems is today. It's the convergence of technology and demand, along with the approval of government regulatory agencies and a set of keen business minds that has SynCardia poised to take off into the stratosphere with its CardioWest Temporary Total Artificial Heart."

FDA Consumer Magazine
Jan-Feb, 2005
Artificial Heart Helps People Awaiting Transplants
"The FDA has approved a partial artificial heart that keeps people alive in the hospital while they wait for a heart transplant. The SynCardia CardioWest Temporary Total Artificial Heart is intended to be a "bridge to transplant" for people who don't respond to other treatments and who could die from non-reversible biventricular heart failure, a condition in which both the left and right sides of the heart are not functioning properly. The device, cleared for marketing in October 2004, is the first of its kind authorized to be sold in the United States."

Wired Magazine
January, 2005
Artificial Hearts: The Beat Goes On
"Every year, more than 3,000 Americans need a new heart. Too bad the donor rate averages less than half that. Researchers struggled for decades to find alternatives to transplants - and this fall, the FDA finally approved the first completely artificial heart. Here's a look at the major milestones in ticker technology and what lies just around the bend."

Boston Globe
October 19, 2004
FDA Approves Temporary Artificial Heart
"The CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart, manufactured by SynCardia Systems of Tucson, takes over for the patient's failing heart, restoring normal blood pressure and shoring up such vital organs as the kidney and liver. The "bridge" device is intended to help keep patients alive long enough for a heart transplant."

USA Today
October 19, 2004
FDA Approves Artificial Heart Implant
"The pump could benefit some of the roughly 8,000 people on waiting lists for the 2,000 donor hearts that become available each year. About 30% of those on the waiting lists die before a donor heart becomes available for transplant."

USA Today
August 25, 2004
CardioWest Heart: Living Proof of Success
"Building an artificial heart has proved tougher than landing men on the moon, but a new study shows that a heart once considered a flop can prolong the lives of desperately sick patients until a donor heart is found, researchers said Thursday."

WebMD
August 25, 2004
Artificial Heart Buys Time Until Transplant
"An artificial heart keeps heart failure patients alive long enough to receive a heart transplant -- welcome news for the 5 million Americans living with this condition."

New England Journal of Medicine
August 20, 2004

Cardiac Replacement with a Total Artificial Heart as a Bridge to Transplantation
The pivotal clinical study of the CardioWest™ temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t).

CBS News
May 28, 2004
High-Tech Hearts
"High technology continues to improve the lives of those with heart problems."

World Talk Radio
May 5, 2004
BioTech Today (no longer available)
A radio interview with Dr. Marvin J. Slepian, Founder and CEO of SynCardia Systems.

The New York Times
March 18, 2004
Subscription may be required to access archived articles
Panel Backs Artificial Heart in Dire Cases
"A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel on Wednesday backed an artificial heart to keep the sickest patients alive while they wait for a transplant. The CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart by SynCardia Systems would be the first on the market if the FDA follows the advisory panel's 10-to-1 recommendation. The agency usually agrees with the advice of its expert panels."

University of Arizona
December 19, 2003
Teenage Patient at UMC is Youngest in World to Be Placed on Total Artificial Heart
"Alex Rowe became the youngest person in the world to be placed on a total artificial heart on Oct. 7, 2003, when surgeons at University Medical Center removed his own diseased heart and replaced it with the CardioWest Total Artificial Heart (TAH)."

University of Arizona
June 20, 2001
Dr. Jack Copeland Receives National Award for Work with Heart Devices
"Jack G. Copeland III, MD, is the recipient of the 2001 Barney Clark Award, a recognition of his success in the use of artificial hearts and heart-assist devices. The award commends Dr. Copeland for 'interjecting science into the process, and for leadership in moving the TAH (total artificial heart) from failure to highly successful clinical applications.' "

Physician's Weekly
December 11, 2000
Total Artificial Hearts: New Devices Work for Patients When LVADs Won't
"An advanced total artificial heart-the AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart (ABIOMEDTM)-is ready for clinical trials, researchers told an international conference here on circulatory-support devices. And scores of patients in trials have already been implanted with CardioWest's successor to the Jarvik 7."

 
 
 

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