APEX Medical Unveils Its Blood Pressure Sensor Technology at International Gathering.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers AACHEN, Germany--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 8, 2000 Enabling Technology Will Accurately Measure Blood Pressure for Automatic Regulation of Heart Assist Devices APEX Medical, Inc., a medical device company developing what it describes as enabling technology that will improve the next generation of Left Ventricular Assist Devices left ventricular assist device Cardiology A mechanical device to ↑ force and volume of blood flowing through the heart. Cf CABG, Jarvik-7. (LVADs), today made its first public presentation of the technology behind its blood pressure sensor A pressure sensor measures the pressure, typically of gases or fluids. Pressure is an expression of the force required to stop a gas or fluid from expanding, and is usually stated in terms of force per unit area. A pressure sensor generates a signal related to the pressure imposed. . Speaking before the 8th Congress of the International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps, Edward T. Bullister, Ph.D., chief scientist for APEX Medical, told an international gathering of medical specialists, engineers, and clinicians that the APEX blood pressure sensor will enable LVADs to operate physiologically with direct, continuous measurement of blood pressure as an input to a closed-loop control system. Bullister added that the long-term safety and effectiveness of the emerging generation of LVADs will depend on their ability to respond to the physiologic blood flow requirements of the patient, and that direct pressure measurement is a critical parameter needed to automatically regulate LVAD LVAD left ventricular assist device; see ventricular assist device, under device. activity. LVADs do not replace the patient's heart, but instead work alongside a weakened heart to assist in pumping the patient's blood throughout the body. APEX Medical said its blood pressure monitor will help prolong the lives of patients suffering from congestive heart failure congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of workload for a considerable length of time. by enabling LVADs to adjust their pumping rates in response to patient activity levels and perfusion perfusion /per·fu·sion/ (-zhun) 1. the act of pouring over or through, especially the passage of a fluid through the vessels of a specific organ. 2. a liquid poured over or through an organ or tissue. needs. The blood pressure sensor, which recently successfully completed in-vitro and in-vivo animal tests, is expected to be the world's first totally implantable, flow-through blood pressure sensor and monitor. Until now, smaller rotary LVADs in development or in clinical testing would have to rely on indirect control parameters Control parameters In a nonlinear dynamic system, the coefficient of the order parameter; the determinant of the influence of the order parameter on the total system. See: Order Parameter. , such as motor current, to regulate pump performance. APEX Medical said direct pressure measurements, which its technology provides, offer a more precise method for pump control and diagnostic monitoring. What this means, Bullister said, is that LVADs using the APEX blood pressure monitoring technology will achieve greater dependability and portability, allowing them to extend the lives of possibly millions of people. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the American Heart Association American Heart Association (AHA), n.pr a national voluntary health agency that has the goal of increasing public and medical awareness of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and thereby reducing the number of associated deaths and disabilities. , 4,600,000 people alive today in the U.S. suffer from congestive heart failure, often the end stage of cardiac disease, with about 550,000 new cases occurring each year. The five-year mortality rate for heart failure is about 50 percent In addition to lives lost, the American Heart Association expects the direct and indirect cost of congestive heart failure in the U.S. in 2000 will reach $42 billion. Because the lack of suitable donor hearts limits the widespread use of heart transplants as a cure to end-stage congestive heart failure, the most viable alternative, long-term solution is a fully implantable cardiac assist device with a closed-loop physiologic control system, Bullister said. About APEX Medical APEX Medical, Inc., on the Web at www.apex-med.com, founded in 1996 and based in East Walpole, Mass., is a medical device company developing new technologies to address the therapeutic and monitoring market segments of chronic heart disease. In 1997, the company received a $1.5 million matching grant matching grant Academia Non-peer-reviewed funding in which a commercial enterprise, foundation, or philanthropy, federal government, contributes a sum of money that 'matches' a financial contribution made by an institution, university or hospital. from the National Institute of Standards and Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology, governmental agency within the U.S. Dept. of Commerce with the mission of "working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards" in the national interest. to develop a long-term, implantable, pressure sensor and monitoring system. Investors in APEX Medical include Crescent Capital, Mayo Medical Ventures, Venture Investment Management Company, and Zero Stage Capital. NOTE: Photo of prototype blood pressure sensor is available at www.businesswire.com\cgi-bin\photo.cgi?pw.060500\bb8 |
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