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Sunshine Heart Announces Research and Develoment Agreement with Allegheny-Singer Research
16 / 10 / 2006
Sunshine Heart, Inc. (ASX: SHC) today announced a research and development agreement with the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute (ASRI) in Pittsburgh, USA. Under this agreement Sunshine Heart will evaluate the feasibility of using Allegheny's unique muscle energy converter (MEC) to power Sunshine Heart's C-PulseTM heart-assist device.
The current version of the C-PulseT offers a number of advantages such as being nonblood contacting and non-obligatory. These features reduce the risk of infection and allow patients the freedom to turn the device off so that daily activities such as taking a shower are possible. This Agreement with ASRI could potentially provide a new generation of C- PulseT heart assist devices which add additional features such as the elimination of external attachments, allowing a patient to lead an almost entirely normal life.
The agreement with ASRI involves the sharing of technologies and know-how at no cost to Sunshine Heart. Sunshine Heart will contribute parts, equipment and know-how to the project in fulfillment of its obligations under the agreement. Under the agreement SHC will receive a "first right of refusal" to commercialise the Allegheny technology.
"Sunshine Heart is committed to developing the best possible solution to heart failure for patients," said Don Rohrbaugh, CEO of Sunshine Heart. "An important element of our strategy is the development of next generation products that can further improve a patient's quality of life. In addition to the research using the MEC system to power the CPulse T we are also looking at alternatives such as Transcutaneous Energy Transfer (TET) technology for our future products," he continued.
The MEC is a completely self-contained hydraulic pump that requires no external power source. The device turns skeletal muscles into living batteries, harnessing their vast stores of mechanical energy to power an implant. Once situated in the chest, the titanium device is fastened to the rib cage. An artificial tendon connects an actuator arm on the device to a back muscle, which is stimulated by implanted electrodes. When the muscle contracts, it moves the actuator arm, which then rotates a cam and generates hydraulic power for the C-PulseT.
The MEC would remove the necessity for externally worn battery packs and would eliminate the need for any percutaneous leads.
The TET technology also offers the advantage of eliminating the need for a percutaneous lead but still requires an externally worn battery pack. The TET system consists of internal and external coils that are used to transmit power across the skin. Because tubes or wires do not pierce the skin, the risk of developing an infection is decreased.
Dr William Peters, Medical Director of Sunshine Heart commented: "The opportunity to work with ASRI's MEC technology is enormously exciting. A biologically powered version
of the C-PulseT system would be ideal for patients offering a heart failure therapy that is effective, non-intrusive and that allows a significant improvement in quality of life.
Denis Trumble of the ASRI added: "The benefits of using a biomechanical power source to drive a cardiac-assist device are hard to overstate and we are delighted with the opportunity to partner with Sunshine Heart to bring this vision to clinical reality."
The current version of the C-PulseT offers a number of advantages such as being nonblood contacting and non-obligatory. These features reduce the risk of infection and allow patients the freedom to turn the device off so that daily activities such as taking a shower are possible. This Agreement with ASRI could potentially provide a new generation of C- PulseT heart assist devices which add additional features such as the elimination of external attachments, allowing a patient to lead an almost entirely normal life.
The agreement with ASRI involves the sharing of technologies and know-how at no cost to Sunshine Heart. Sunshine Heart will contribute parts, equipment and know-how to the project in fulfillment of its obligations under the agreement. Under the agreement SHC will receive a "first right of refusal" to commercialise the Allegheny technology.
"Sunshine Heart is committed to developing the best possible solution to heart failure for patients," said Don Rohrbaugh, CEO of Sunshine Heart. "An important element of our strategy is the development of next generation products that can further improve a patient's quality of life. In addition to the research using the MEC system to power the CPulse T we are also looking at alternatives such as Transcutaneous Energy Transfer (TET) technology for our future products," he continued.
The MEC is a completely self-contained hydraulic pump that requires no external power source. The device turns skeletal muscles into living batteries, harnessing their vast stores of mechanical energy to power an implant. Once situated in the chest, the titanium device is fastened to the rib cage. An artificial tendon connects an actuator arm on the device to a back muscle, which is stimulated by implanted electrodes. When the muscle contracts, it moves the actuator arm, which then rotates a cam and generates hydraulic power for the C-PulseT.
The MEC would remove the necessity for externally worn battery packs and would eliminate the need for any percutaneous leads.
The TET technology also offers the advantage of eliminating the need for a percutaneous lead but still requires an externally worn battery pack. The TET system consists of internal and external coils that are used to transmit power across the skin. Because tubes or wires do not pierce the skin, the risk of developing an infection is decreased.
Dr William Peters, Medical Director of Sunshine Heart commented: "The opportunity to work with ASRI's MEC technology is enormously exciting. A biologically powered version
of the C-PulseT system would be ideal for patients offering a heart failure therapy that is effective, non-intrusive and that allows a significant improvement in quality of life.
Denis Trumble of the ASRI added: "The benefits of using a biomechanical power source to drive a cardiac-assist device are hard to overstate and we are delighted with the opportunity to partner with Sunshine Heart to bring this vision to clinical reality."