Ann: First patients receive Allied's CardioCe, page-8

re: Ann: First patients receive Allied's ... The announcement has now reached main stream media.

Patience grasshopper....patience

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/aussie-made-kids-heart-patch-makes-debut/story-e6freuz0-1226499205585

I don't believe I have breached copyright as the article has a button that allows you to share it with facebook etc....so have re-produced article below.

Aussie-made kids' heart patch makes debut

DOCTORS hope a new super-durable heart patch that mimics human tissue will significantly improve the lives of children born with heart defects.
The patch, made by Australian company Allied Healthcare Group, was used in surgery for the first time this week in three operations at Brisbane's Mater Children's Hospital.

Cardiac surgeon Professor Tom Karl says the prosthesis is made from cow heart membrane.

It is used to repair holes in the heart walls of children with congenital heart defect.

The patch has undergone special processing doctors hope will stop it breaking down in the body.

Current products broke down as soon as one year after they were implanted, Prof Karl told reporters on Friday.

"If we can prevent degeneration of material that we implant inside the heart ... then we can avoid re-operations which are unfortunately common in complex congenital heart defects," he said.

One in 100 Australian children are born with congenital heart defect.

The three patients were doing well, the surgeon said. Time will tell whether the patches last.

"If this patch looks better in terms of its ... function at one year of age than previous patch materials have, then it's quite likely that in the intermediate and longer term it will also be superior to what we've got now," he said.

Allied Healthcare managing director Lee Rodne said doctors had been searching for a non-toxic heart patch for a long time.

"As an Australian company we're very excited to be the first in the world with clinical data to show that we overcome those limitations," he told reporters.

The company plans to market the CardioCel patch in the US and Europe, pending approval from health regulators.

It hoped the patch could in the future be used in adults.

GLTA