Technologies
WorldHeart develops and commercializes Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) intended for long-term support of patients with late-stage heart failure.
Our present focus is to develop the continuously pumping, hockey-puck size Levacor™ VAD for adults who suffer from late-stage heart failure.
In addition, we are developing two miniaturized implantable pumps, each the size of a AA battery:
- A MIVAD™ for adults with earlier-stage heart failure who need long-term but partial cardiac support. The MIVAD is derived from
- The Pediaflow™ VAD for newborns and infants with congenital heart defects and other heart ailments that need cardiac support of up to 6 months.
These technologies are based on the experience and accomplishments of the pioneering Novacor® LVAS. This device has been in clinical use since 1984 and helped establish the LVAD marketplace, with approval for use in North America, the European Union and Japan. It was the first successful Left Ventricular Assist Device used for a Bridge-to-Transplant, the first and only device to meet the multi-year Device Readiness Test Protocol of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the first to surpass six years of support of a single patient.
With more than 1,800 Novacor® LVAS recipients, WorldHeart products have enabled recipients to return to their homes, hobbies, jobs and families.