Medical device modified for use in children

Houston, Texas - Less than a year after being awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation for its catheter-deployed circulatory assist device Aortix, Procyrion, Inc. presented a progress update on its novel technology. It has been modified for use in children born with single ventricle heart defects.

Omar Benavides, Ph.D., a senior product development engineer with Procyrion, presented results from the first large animal study completed with the modified circulatory assist device under the grant at the Consortium’s 2nd Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition held at the University of Maryland.

“Thanks to the generous support from the Consortium, we’ve been able to conduct a large animal proof-of-concept study to further investigate the feasibility of using a modified Aortix device to clinically manage hemodynamics in single ventricle physiologies associated with the Fontan procedure. The results are quite promising,” Benavides says. 

Aortix, a small, continuous-flow pump delivered via catheter through the femoral artery to the descending thoracic aorta, functions by accelerating a portion of the native aortic flow resulting in reduced work of the heart and increased blood flow to vital organs. For this pediatric indication, a modified two-pump version of the Aortix device is deployed via catheter with one pump positioned in each of the inferior and superior venae cavae to boost venous return and pulmonary flow. 

Procyrion was selected as a 2014 grant awardee based on clinical significance of the pediatric device, approach to product development, likelihood of being marketed successfully, project team, environment, resources, and potential for additional funding.

Source: Procyrion Inc.