It's a world first. A heart pump with an undulating membrane inspired by the swimming action of fish and developed by the Paris region's medtech company. CorWave has just been implanted in a first patient this summer. Designed in Clichy (92) but used in Sydney (Australia), this cardiac device, unlike the rotary pumps currently on the market, operates in a unique mode.
20 locations planned in the coming years
As the startup's press release summarizes, " It aims to preserve the effects of heartbeats on the vascular system and to function synchronously with the heart, automatically adjusting blood flow according to the patient's activity, whether at rest or in motion..
With this wave diaphragm pump – in practice, a mixture of titanium, silicone and ferromagnetic metals -, Three objectives are pursued: the reduction of serious complications (strokes, bleeding, right heart and valvular failure) associated with current devices, the improvement of the quality of life of patients with an earlier resumption of their activities and finally the remission of heart failure possible in certain patients.
It remains to be demonstrated the effectiveness of this ventricular assist device through a clinical trial, this implantation being only the first of twenty planned. TThe meetings are to take place over the next three years in six hospitals, including four in Europe and two in Australia.
Heart failure affects more than 64 million people worldwide
This first patient, Michael Smith, aged 67, was in the terminal stages of heart failure. According to the press release from Saint Vincent Hospital broadcast at the beginning of July at the time of its release, more than 30 days after the intervention carried out on May 28, His condition was good and his recovery was rapid. According to Dr. Paul Jansz, the surgeon in charge of the operation, "The surgical procedure for this implantation is very similar to that of current left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). However, unlike these, this next-generation system preserves the natural pulse, which is potentially revolutionary. We could usher in a new era of circulatory support.".
Heart failure affects more than 64 million people worldwide, and the most severely affected, several hundred thousand patients, could be candidates for this type of long-term circulatory support solution. This first patient will thus be able to maintain the device until a compatible heart is found for transplant.
This prosthesis inspired by the aquatic world was born after more than 10 years of research and it was in October 2023 that medtech moved to industrial scale with the inauguration of its urban factory in Clichy. Now wishing Michael Smith peaceful days in Sydney.
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