Abiomed Introduces 3rd Generation Impella CP Heart Pumps

Abiomed, Inc. announced the debut of the 3rd Generation Impella CP heart pump at the Annual meeting of the Society for Cardiovascular and Angiography Interventions (SCAI 2017) in New Orleans, LA.

The technology offers new features for optimal care during a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in high-risk patients known as a Protected PCI, and for patients being treated with Impella in the intensive care unit (ICU). The 3rd Generation Impella CP is a member of the Impella family of heart pumps which have the unique ability to unload the heart and enable native heart recovery, potentially allowing patients to return home with their own hearts.

As the world's smallest heart pump, the Impella platform has supported more than 50,000 patients in the U.S. alone, and is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) indicated as safe and effective for PCI in high-risk patients and patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction complicated by Cardiogenic Shock (AMICS).

(Image credit: Abiomed)

There are several new features on the Impella CP 3rd Generation that simplify patient management:

To maximize unloading of the heart in the cath lab, this next generation heart pump enables higher flow. Clinicians could see peak flows above 4 liters/minute for patients whose hearts need additional pumping support

New guide wire re-access sheath allows clinicians to re-access the femoral artery which enables the clinician to rapidly escalate care if needed

For ease of use, the insertion kit contains a new, proprietary, 25 cm introducer sheath to facilitate the insertion of the device in challenging or tortuous femoral vessels, thus increasing the number of patients who could benefit from percutaneous hemodynamic support. This unique, long introducer sheath can be removed after pVAD insertion with a simple peel-away technique that is not possible with any other kind of introducer

"The ability to introduce the Impella device simply and swiftly even in the presence of challenging femoral or iliac arteries will be valuable for interventional cardiologists caring for high-risk patients during PCI and for those in cardiogenic shock," explains Seth Bilazarian M.D., FACC, FSCAI, Chief Medical Officer of Abiomed and experienced interventional cardiologist. He continued, "Enhanced flows will be very useful, as will the new guide wire repositioning unit which expands the options for access site closure or device exchanges."

The ability to maintain access to the arteriotomy is particularly vital to the care of patients supported by the Impella device in the ICU long-term, such as those in cardiogenic shock. In addition, the Impella CP 3rdGeneration heart pump offers fewer steps when flushing the system as part of standard maintenance.

"It's intuitive and user-friendly," says Christiana Gartner, RN, a Nurse Educator and experienced ICU nurse with extensive Impella experience at Greenville Health System who had the opportunity to test features of the 3rd Generation CP. "It's a time saver; you don't question what's coming next. This software will make it easier to take care of your patient in the ICU."

Like all Impella heart pumps for the left side, the 3rd Generation CP devices are designed for optimal positioning in the left ventricle and feature a flexible catheter, radiopaque marker, cannula shape and pigtail. The 3rd Generation Impella CP devices are now available in the U.S.