On-X Life Technologies has appointed Senko Medical Trading as the exclusive marketing and distributor of the On-X Prosthetic Heart Valve in Japan.

The On-X valve is the result of a medical grade carbon technology, On-X pure pyrolytic carbon, whose strength enables On-X LTI to make valve design changes that resulted in a prosthesis acting more like a natural valve in its treatment of blood in addition to thrombo-resistant surface.

On-X Life said that On-X valve does not produce the turbulence and blood damage like other mechanical heart valve prostheses and therefore reduces the potential for life-threatening blood clots.

Senko Medical Instrument president Makoto Aoki said that the On-X valve offers an opportunity for patients to have a permanent solution to their valve disease with minimized risk of valve-related complications such as bleeding or replacement.

“We are pleased to be able to bring this revolutionary heart valve to Japan, because it provides Japanese heart patients with a significant chance for a quality of life improvement over the alternatives,” Aoki said.