Artificial Heart Pilot Trial Update – Third ImplantWednesday 22...

Artificial Heart Pilot Trial Update – Third Implant
Wednesday 22 October 2003: Medical investigators today announced the third
implant of Australia’s ‘artificial heart’ at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.
Chief Medical Investigator, Professor Don Esmore said the patient was currently in
a critical but stable condition and was being closely monitored and assessed.
Professor Esmore said “At the time of surgery the patient was gravely ill and the
procedure to implant the VentrAssist™ system was the only option left for the
patient.”
Further updates will be provided in due course.
Two patients previously implanted with the VentrAssist™ system continue to
progress satisfactorily whilst at home.
This is the third implant of a series of up to 10 implants of the VentrAssist ™ left
ventricular assist system (LVAS) as part of a Pilot Trial at The Alfred hospital to
evaluate the safety of the device. At the discretion of the medical investigators,
further patients are expected to be enrolled in due course.
The trial results will be based on outcomes from all 10 patients. While individual
outcomes are very important, it is the accumulation of all data on the safety of the
device that will decide the outcome of the trial.
Patients who are eligible to be implanted with the VentrAssist™ system are gravely
ill. They are not eligible for heart transplantation and are no longer responding to
optimal medical therapy.
For more information, please contact:
Michael Spooner Trisha Lee
Ventracor Limited The Alfred
Managing Director & CEO Public Affairs Manager
02 9406 3088 03 9276 2354