CardiAQ Valve Technologies (CVT), which is developing self-conforming and self-anchoring technology for Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation (TMVI), has reported that its transcatheter delivery system was employed to deliver a mitral valve implant in the porcine model.
The achievement for mitral valve replacement is scheduled to be presented on May 25th, at the ‘EuroPCR 2010’ scientific meeting in Paris by Arshad Quadri, MD, co-founder, chairman and chief medical officer of CVT.
Brent Ratz, president and CEO of CVT, said: “Our previous in vivo work had already confirmed the acute performance of CVT’s self-conforming, self-anchoring mitral valve, but now we have demonstrated that true transcatheter mitral valve implantation is achievable.
“Others have published results for minimally invasive, transapical approaches to mitral valve replacement. However, to our knowledge, this is the first time that anyone has successfully delivered and deployed a mitral valve through a transvenous, transseptal, catheter-based approach. This is certainly a ‘first’ for the heart valve community.”
Dr Quadri said: “Given the enormous unmet clinical need for the overwhelming majority of patients who suffer from mitral regurgitation (MR), we are extremely pleased by this significant milestone. The vast majority of MR patients suffer from functional MR and many are too sick to undergo heart valve surgery.
“In addition, surgical repair is largely ineffective with these patients, as the recurrent rate of MR after repair is about 20 percent. With CVT’s TMVI approach, it appears that easy access along with precise placement may permit a truly interventional or non-surgical procedure to replace a mitral valve.”