DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device®
California Pacific Medical Center is one of 20 sites participating in MicroMed’s Bridge-to-Transplant clinical trials. This is a new device with promising axial flow technology and it may improve patient outcomes. Clinical trials will be an important step toward establishing safety and efficacy of such a device.
The MicroMed DeBakey VAD®
The MicroMed DeBakey VAD® is a miniatured VAD about one-tenth the size LVADs currently on the market and weighs less than four ounces.
To date, more than 200 patients have been implanted with the MicroMed DeBakey VAD. The device, designed for end-stage heart failure patients who can no longer provide necessary blood flow with their native heart, is the size of a "C" cell battery, is silent, weighs less than four ounces and was designed by NASA for long-term use.
The MicroMed DeBakey VAD was pioneered by Drs. Michael DeBakey, George Noon and NASA Engineer David Saucier. The device applies spacecraft technology and in 1996, MicroMed Technology, Inc. received an exclusive license from NASA for the VAD.
Ventricular Assist Devices, or heart pumps, are used to treat patients with severe heart failure. The devices are temporary for some and permanent for others. They are surgically attached to a patient’s own heart and run by batteries. One’s natural circulation continues following VAD placement. The VAD provides additional support in pumping blood throughout the body.