Chinese-made ventricular assist device enters clinical testing

CHONGQING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Several Chinese hospitals Friday started a clinical test for a ventricular assist device (VAD), which is believed to be the first such test conducted on the Chinese mainland.

The test will be conducted at three hospitals, namely Fuwai Hospital under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Union Hospital affiliated with Tongji Medical College at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Fujian Medical University Union Hospital.

It is expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of Chinese patients with severe heart failure.

The VAD was developed by Chongqing Yongrenxin Medical Devices Co. Ltd., a Sino-Japanese joint venture. The device entered a period of clinical testing in Japan in 2005.

In November, the Chongqing-based company officially obtained approval for the clinical test from the China Food and Drug Administration.

According to Hu Shengshou, president of Fuwai Hospital, heart failure caused more than 40 percent deaths due to diseases in China annually.

Hu said that China has at least 600,000 patients with severe heart failure. However, due to a severe donor shortage, the country only conducts around 300 heart transplant surgeries each year.

VAD is known globally as one of the most effective measures to treat patients with severe heart failure. Domestically-made devices are not yet ready to be put into commercial use, while foreign-made devices are often unaffordable.

The device will be put into use in 2018 after the clinical test concludes.

A VAD is an electromechanical device for assisting cardiac circulation, which is used either to partially or completely replace the function of a failing heart. Enditem