Leviticus Cardio, an Israel-based med tech company and Jarvik Heart, the company well-known for making artificial hearts, have announced that a man in Kazakhstan became the first person in the world to receive a Fully Implanted Ventricular Assist Device (FIVAD). The man received a Jarvik 2000 VAD, which was powered by Leviticus Cardio’s Coplanar Energy Transfer (CET) system. Scientists believe FIVAD could someday replace heart transplants.
“The operation was a success. The patient has been discharged from the hospital and is back leading a normal life. He was in the audience during the press conference and later sat down for interviews with journalists,” said a press release.
FIVAD is based on technology created by Leviticus Cardio, a medical technology company headquartered in Israel. It uses patented Coplanar Energy Transfer (CET) to wirelessly power a heart pump – a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). FIVAD incorporates a heart pump produced by Jarvik Heart Inc, an established manufacturer of ventricular assist devices.
Each year, thousands of patients with severe heart failure receive VADs instead of heart transplants. These devices need to continuously be connected to a power source which requires patients to have a wire coming out of their bodies. This not only severely hampers the patients’ quality of life but, in over 20% of cases, causes infections which can lead to hospitalization and severe complications.
FIVAD is a fully implanted VAD system, a Jarvik 2000 pump, powered wirelessly using both internal and external components designed by Leviticus Cardio, which allows patients to walk around without any physical impediments for up to 8 hours a day.
After years of development and animal testing, scientists were able to successfully implant FIVAD in a human in December at the National Research Center for Cardiac Surgery in Astana, Kazakhstan.
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Jarvik Heart, Post Auricular driveline connection back-up system allows FIVAD to switch to traditional wired power in case the wireless system fails.
Prestigious Journal for Heart and Lung Transplantation (JHL) published an article about the FIVAD implantation.
