Leviticus Cardio, Jarvik Heart unveil wireless LVAD

Jarvik Heart and Leviticus Cardio yesterday unveiled a new collaborative wirelessly-powered left ventricular assist device and touted its recent first-in-human use.

An article on the new heart and its first implantation was recently published in the Journal for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the companies said.

The device, dubbed the Fully Implanted Ventricular Assist Device (FIVAD), is based on Coplanar Energy Transfer technology from Leviticus Cardio as well as a heart pump produced by Jarvik Heart, the companies said.

The system includes a fully implanted Jarvik 2000 VAD system which is powered wirelessly using both internal and external components designed by Leviticus Cardio, and allows users the ability to move on their own without physical impediments for up to eight hours daily, the companies said. The system also features a back-up system to allow traditional wired power in the event of a wireless failure.

The first implantation was performed at the Astana, Kazakhstan’s National Research Center for Cardiac Surgery, the companies said. The procedure was successful, and the patient has been discharged from the hospital, they added.

“We were really satisfied how easy it was to position the internal components of Leviticus’ system during surgery. It exceeded our expectations during the operation. Simplicity of surgery has definitely contributed to the patients’ early recovery,” Dr. Jiri Maly of Prague’s Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, who participated in the FIVAD surgery, said in a press release.

“This is a significant improvement in the quality of life experienced by the patient. The patient has the freedom to go about his daily routine without having to worry about being connected to a power source via a driveline and can forget for a few hours that he is supported by an LVAD. We, the medical community, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, VAD coordinators and the patients have wanted this for decades,” Dr. Nir Uriel of the University of Chicago said in a prepared statement.

“The FIVAD system is a game changer for anyone suffering from severe heart failure. We hope that this successful operation will be the first of many and that our system will soon provide thousands of patients with the ability to carry on with a normal life, despite their disease,” Leviticus Cardio CEO Michael Zilbershlag and Jarvik Heart prez & COO Peter Hinchliffe said in a joint statement.

Last month, Leviticus Cardio and Jarvik Heart won a $950,000 grant from the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.

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