usa 3/12 dead. vcr 3/7dead. Sure the heartmate2 has been posted...

usa 3/12 dead. vcr 3/7dead. Sure the heartmate2 has been posted by me but I guess you were too busy typing to read it. Here it is again. The head on comparison of the parallel trials of the non pulsatile single moving part devices:


"In the meantime, we are seeing very encouraging results from the initial stages of our U.S. clinical trials for the HeartMate(R) II," he added. "We have now implanted 12 patients in the U.S. and Europe and have not experienced any serious device-related adverse events. Eight patients remain supported by the device, including six who have been discharged to their homes, one patient has been successfully transplanted and three have died due to factors unrelated to the device. All ongoing patients have been supported by the device for a minimum of 30 days-with the longest being supported for more than seven months-and total cumulative days of support now exceeds two years. We look forward to giving a more detailed update on this exciting technology in our second quarter earnings conference call."

Thoratec Corporation is a world leader in products to treat cardiovascular disease with its Thoratec(R) VAD (ventricular assist device) and HeartMate LVAS (left ventricular assist system) with more than 8,000 devices implanted in patients suffering from heart failure. Thoratec's product line also includes the Vectra(R) vascular access graft (VAG) for patients undergoing hemodialysis. Additionally, its International Technidyne Corporation (ITC) division supplies blood testing and skin incision products. Thoratec is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. For more information, visit the company's web sites at http://www.thoratec.com or http://www.itcmed.com .