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MedQuest® specializes in the design and manufacture of the HeartQuest™ System, a long- term ventricular assist device.
HEARTQUEST™ VAD
The first, true, long-term solution
for heart failure.
MedQuest's goal is to become the world leader in the clinical use of implantable ventricular assist devices (VADs). We are completing the development of a small, implantable, and reliable VAD with very gentle blood handling characteristics. This blood pump, the HeartQuest™ VAD, will be part of a comprehensive treatment program that will dramatically extend the lives of the vast majority of congestive heart failure patients.
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The HeartQuest™ VAD has not been
approved for sale or distribution. |
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In the U.S. alone, there are more than 550,000 patients each year that are diagnosed with debilitating and disabling end-stage congestive heart failure (CHF).
The human body depends on the heart’s pumping action to deliver oxygen and nutrient rich blood so it can function normally. CHF is a state of health in which the heart muscle is permanently weakened and is no longer strong enough to provide adequate blood supply to the body. Lacking adequate blood supply, vital organs become less effective, putting greater strain on an already weakened heart and catalyzing a downward spiral that ends in death.
CHF patients become weak, fatigued, or short of breath, and everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, carrying groceries, and yard work can become quite difficult, if not impossible. They face a bleak future of relentless progress of this serious condition, with very limited options for effective treatment. There is no medical cure for CHF .
MedQuest aims to change the present prognosis for CHF patients from “living with no cure” to “returning CHF patients to a quality of life and life expectancy enjoyed by healthy people.”
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The HeartQuest™ System is an integrated system for Lifelong™ Therapy that resolves the debilitating symptoms of chronic heart failure. At the center of this system is an implantable, centrifugal pump housed in a small, sleek, durable, titanium housing. This pump’s durability, reliability, and superior blood handling capabilities are all empowered by MagLev™ Technology. MagLev™ Technology is the simplest and most elegant application of a magnetically suspended and driven impeller that gently sweeps the blood along through a smooth, seamless, unobstructed blood path.
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The HeartQuest™ VAD augments the work of the patient’s native left ventricle, connected to it by a unique set of cannulae that facilitate rapid implantation of the device.
Supporting the HeartQuest™ VAD is a group of devices that act in concert to control, monitor, and power the pump with minimal effort or interaction required by the patient affording unparalleled ease of use.
The fully integrated HeartQuest™ System is designed to return the patients to a high quality of life.
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The HeartQuest™ VAD aims to resolve the two major problems associated with blood pumps: size and reliability. Relative to other VADs, the HeartQuest™'s design for high reliability and small size is expected to provide a much higher quality of life to a larger number of patients. This is without the risk of frequent re-operations and device replacements, potentially making the HeartQuest™ VAD more cost effective than other alternatives.
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MedQuest has assembled the best team in the world to complete the development of the HeartQuest™ VAD. MedQuest has very strong intellectual property, including patents, which enable the HeartQuest™ VAD to have distinct advantages over its competition. The HeartQuest™ VAD technology has received national and international innovation awards, and the HeartQuest™ development team was the recipient of a four-year, $4.2 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. It is the only LVAD ever funded by such a NIH grant.
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