News & Events

< Back to News Overview

Momentum growing for Sunshine Heart clinical trial - fifth patient receives implant

11 / 09 / 2006

Key Points
Monash Medical Centre implants first patient
Five investigational sites actively screening for patients in Australia and New Zealand
Five people implanted with the C-PulseTM heart assist device

Sydney, Australia. 11 September 2006. Sunshine Heart (ASX:SHC) has today announced its unique heart assist pump called C-PulseTM has been successfully implanted into a fifth patient as part of the company's Australian and New Zealand clinical trial program.

Successful 5th implant in current Pilot Clinical Trial

Melbourne-based Monash Medical Centre, part of the Southern Health network, confirmed it has successfully implanted the C-PulseTM into its first patient this week. Southern Health joined the clinical trial program earlier this year.

The C-PulseTM, developed by Australian company Sunshine Heart, improves the heart function of patients with heart failure by increasing blood supply to the heart muscle and reducing the heart's pumping work. It is uniquely designed as a nonblood contacting heart-assist device, reducing the risks of clotting and bleeding complications and making it safe to turn the device on and off.

Professor Julian Smith, Principal Investigator and Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Southern Health, said: "The C PulseTM was successfully implanted this week and the patient continues to recover post operatively. We are encouraged with these initial results."

Victor Windeyer, Chief Operating Officer of Sunshine Heart added: "The clinical program is gaining momentum as four of the five investigational sites actively screening patients for inclusion in the trial now have implanted, and have experience with, the C-PulseTM."

In all, eleven people have been implanted with the C-PulseTM, six in a previous short term intra-operative study and now a further five people in the current Pilot Clinical Trial.

This implant is part of a multi-centre trial in Australia and New Zealand involving up to ten patients being conducted at Auckland City Hospital (Auckland), the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne), Southern Health Monash Medical Centre (Melbourne), St Vincent's Hospital (Sydney) and Royal Perth Hospital (Perth).