Home-made ‘Rocket Heart’ in Clinical Trial

A report from Section 2 of Jin Wan Bao News on September 22, 2020:

A few days ago, a patient suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure successfully received implantation of the “Rocket Heart” -- the HeartCon ventricular assist device at TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, indicating that the purely home-made “artificial heart” officially entered into clinical trial.

Mr. Ma, from Tangshan, Hebei province, has had heart failure for 10 years. In the past two years, he has been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, end-stage heart failure, arrhythmia, hypertension, renal insufficiency, and aortic atherosclerosis due to repeated onsets of heart failure, with critical condition. During his treatment at TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, Mr. Ma learned of the clinical trial of the home-made “Rocket Heart”, and was selected as a participant after appraisal.

Several days ago, Professor Liu Xiaocheng, chief researcher of the clinical trial and director of TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, personally performed the operation and successfully installed the 180g of “Rocket Heart” -- a titanium alloy ventricular assist device into the body of Mr. Ma. After the operation, the patient’s heart failure symptoms were significantly improved.

Since 2009, TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital and China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology have carried out researches on the third-generation artificial heart -- implantable magnetic fluid suspension ventricular assist device, which is named “HeartCon” and also called “Rocket Heart”. In 2018, HeartCon was approved by the National Medical Products Administration and entered into the special approval process for innovative medical devices. This device is characterized by four “only”, that is the only one of such product that is produced by wholly domestic-funded enterprise, the only one of such product that is made through integration of medicine and industry, the only one of such product that is developed independently in China with intellectual properties, and the only one of such product that is wholly developed in China.