Procyrion's micro-heart pump moving forward

Houston, TX – In less than a month, officials from Procyrion announce that the Aortix micro-heart pump put has been through a series of simulations to improve the overall design and performance of the prototype in preparation for first-in-human trials; earned a spot in TCT Interventional Innovation “Shark Tank” competition; and is sharing in a grant award and a year of consulting services after earning the 2015 Universal Biotech Innovation Prize.

Computation fluid simulations
enmodes GmbH, a German company that designs and engineers innovative medical designs, put Houston-based Procyrion Inc.’s Aortix micro-heart pump through a series of computational fluid dynamic simulations to improve the overall design and performance of the prototype in preparation for first-in-human trials. The simulation and bench top flow loop results was presented at the at the 23rd Annual Congress of the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps (ISRBP 2015) held in late September in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

“We partnered with enmodes for their experience in computational fluid dynamics to assist us in optimizing the design of Aortix,” says Will Clifton, MD, Procyrion director of research and development. “The result is a safer, high-performing prototype with improved pump components. We have validated the increased performance and reduced hemolytic potential of the new design in a number of bench top tests and are excited to move forward.”

Shark Tank time
Aortix has earned a spot among the revolutionary diagnostic and therapeutic modalities accepted to be presented in the Interventional Innovation “Shark Tank” Competition at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) annual scientific symposium happening this week in San Francisco, California.

Duke University cardiologist and Procyrion Scientific Advisory Board member Dr. Manesh Patel had eight minutes to present the novel booster pump before a unique group of reviewers who will select the best technological concepts of the year. The top three finalists will be selected to answer additional questions from the judges and the winner and first-runner up will be announced Thurs., Oct. 15.

“This is a great opportunity to showcase the potential benefits of Aortix and our exciting preclinical results in front of an audience of prospective users. We believe Aortix has the potential to one-day offer a new ambulatory treatment option for millions of patients with chronic heart failure. TCT is a premier conference for interventional cardiology technologies, and it is an honor to be participating as one of the finalists with so many other worthy candidates,” says Benjamin A. Hertzog, Ph.D., CEO of Procyrion.

2015 Universal Biotech Innovation Prize
Procyrion Inc. earned the 2015 Universal Biotech Innovation Prize for Aortix. With the top two most innovative projects, Procyrion and Pixium Vision, will share a grant award and a year of consulting services offered by organizer Universal Biotech, valued at €60,000.

With its catheter-deployed heart pump Aortix, Procyrion aims to give NYHA Class III-IVa heart failure patients a better quality-of-life by allowing the heart to rest and heal while increasing blood flow to vital organs. The small but powerful micro-pump is placed downstream of the heart in a simple cath-lab procedure and works to support heart function by accelerating native blood flow in the aorta. Designed specifically to reduce the risks associated with existing technologies (e.g. stroke, infection, and catastrophic device failure), Aortix is thinner than a No. 2 pencil, yet was still able to reduce the workload of the heart by almost 40% in pre-clinical studies.

“We’re working to change the outlook for millions around the world who suffer from chronic heart failure. This international recognition among other ground-breaking innovations underscores the need for improved cardiovascular therapies,” said Benavides.

Adds Hertzog, “As an entrepreneur, the validation is invaluable to our entire team in reminding us that we’re on the right track and are a part of something with the potential to help so many patients suffering from chronic heart failure.”

Source: Procyrion