The New Generation Ventricular Assist Device: Industrial Status and Needs for Biomechanical Research

摘要

The next five years will test the efficacy of the third-generation ventricular assist device (VAD) as an alternative to heart transplantation. This revolutionary technology is expected to catalyze the emerging growth of the VAD market towards exceeding that of the cardiac pacing segment. It has opened up an optimal opportunity for the developers, especially those aiming at the Chinese market, to approach world leadership at a fraction of investment the older players have spent. Advancement of the technology will continue through overcoming a few barriers that remain extremely challenging and call for intensive research of biomechanical engineering and tissue engineering. Some of these critical issues are outlined from an industrial perspective in this presentation.