Local heart goes national

There may be a new device on the market to help older pump blood through the body, and it was made in Ann Arbor. The DuraHeart System is up for trials to see how well the contraption works. If all goes well, which similar devices have already shown, this little thing will start improving and elongating lives.

Excerpt:

The DuraHeart System, made by Ann Arbor-based Terumo Heart Inc., part of Terumo Corp., which is headquartered in Japan, was approved in February by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be tested in up to 140 U.S. patients.

The device is being tested as a “bridge to transplant” for patients suffering from certain forms of heart failure, said David Munjal, Terumo Heart vice president for clinical studies, regulatory affairs and quality systems. The goal is to request approval to run a simultaneous study of the device as a “destination” therapy for patients who don’t qualify for transplant, he said.

Read the entire article here.