The license has been granted for the new device to use as a single cannula for both venous drainage and reinfusion of blood through an internal jugular vein during extracorporeal life support procedures.
The PROTEK Duo cannula has been developed to address two major roadblocks, which include difficulty of initiating and maintaining a patient on VV ECLS support against mechanical ventilation and suboptimal gas exchange rates with currently available devices.
Patient management can be simplified by combining PROTEK Duo cannula with the lightweight and compact TandemHeart pump.
The pump has secured Class 4 medical device license from Health Canada for up to 10 days of circulatory support.
It is developed to simplify patient ambulation and enable freedom of movement not possible with mechanical ventilation or any alternative ECLS device.
PROTEK Duo cannula also allows omnidirectional flow and can bypass the right ventricle of the heart by directing flow from the patient’s right atrium to the pulmonary artery. It helps in optimizing gas exchange and simultaneously reducing stress on the right side of the heart.
CardiacAssist president and CEO John Marous said the Canadian launch of the PROTEK Duo cannula is taking TandemHeart into new territory.
"We are now working on new innovations to help both heart and respiratory failure patients, with even more new products in the pipeline coming right behind PROTEK Duo," Marous added.
