Beijing & Shanghai, China – On October 7-13, 2019, the China Structure Week 2019 and 3rd Edition of China International Structural Heart Diseases Conference took advantage of interactive online live streaming and offline seminars to jointly present the new techniques and concepts in the area of structural heart diseases with domestic and international top-tier healthcare professionals. Shanghai MicroPort CardioFlow Medtech Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort® CardioFlow") showed its self-developed VitaFlow® Transcatheter Aortic Valve and Delivery System ("VitaFlow®"), Alwide™ Balloon Dilation Catheter and Alpass™ Catheter Sheath Set at the events, which attracted wide attention.
On October 9, the MicroPort® CardioFlow Multilateral Meeting took place as scheduled and was co-chaired by Professor Yongjian Wu from Fuwai Hospital, Professor Yundai Chen from Chinese PLA General Hospital, Professor Hanjun Pei from First Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, Professor Siyong Teng and Guannan Niu from Fuwai Hospital, and MicroPort® CardioFlow Vice President Guojia Wu. Professor Bo Wang from Xijing Hospital, Professor Bin Wang from Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital and Director Wei Zhong from Meizhou People’s Hospital jointly reviewed the clinical experience from the special and complex cases at their hospitals after the launch of the TAVR devices of MicroPort® CardioFlow, as well as the 2-year clinical results of VitaFlow®.
Professor Yongjian Wu said at the meeting: “The launch of VitaFlow® provides more and better therapeutic options for the Chinese patients with aortic valve stenosis. The Alwide™ Balloon Dilation Catheter and Alpass™ Catheter Sheath Set, which are developed to target the TAVR procedure, provide a more comprehensive therapeutic solution even for the TAVR clinicians in China and filled the void of Chinese-made accessory devices for the treatment of valve diseases.” Professor Yundai Chen and Professor Yongjian Wu hoped that in the future, the Chinese valve device producers could feature more Chinese characteristics in terms of product design and brand promotion to provide the Chinese clinicians with more comprehensive products and solutions.
During the Structure Week, MicroPort® CardioFlow held nine live cases within four days at the eight major hospitals of Fuwai Hospital, Wuhan Asia Heart Disease Hospital, Xijing Hospital, Ruijin Hospital, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Guangdong General Hospital, with excellent results and prognosis. The first-of-its-kind design of an outer skirt in VitaFlow® was unanimously well received by Professor Yongjian Wu, Xi Su, Ling Tao, Ruiyan Zhang, Daxin Zhou and Yan Wang. The clinicians said that the outer skirt design is of great help with not only the prevention of paravalvular leak, which is a major complication, but also the valve landing during the device’s deployment through a substantial increase in the friction at the valve’s outer edge. In combination with a precise speed control contributed by the motorized delivery system, the outer skirt design greatly elevates the precision and stability during the deployment of valve. They also said that the newly launched VitaFlow® would require more experience sharing and reviews in clinical practice in the future to further improve its efficacy and benefit more patients.
In the past, the imported balloon dilation catheters used in accompany with TAVR procedure constituted a monopoly in the Chinese market, which was due to the technical sophistication. During the Structure Week, MicroPort® CardioFlow hosted activities and several live cases on Alwide™ Balloon Dilation Catheter on October 10 to present the domestic and overseas healthcare professionals and researchers the outstanding clinical performance of the Chinese-made self-developed balloon catheter, which attracted wide attention. During the activities on balloon, the healthcare professionals from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Guangdong General Hospital and Fuwai Hospital used live cases and lectures to introduce the use of Alwide™ Balloon Dilation Catheter in TAVR procedure. Prof. Jianfang Luo from Guangdong General Hospital said during the live cases: “MicroPort® CardioFlow’s valve dilation balloon features fast inflation and deflation. Its extremely low compliance can remarkably meet the clinicians’ needs of pre-dilation and post-dilation in the TAVR procedure.”
The aortic valve stenosis is one of the most common and critical valve diseases among the elderly people, with the prevalence rate increasing significantly with age. The patients suffering from severe aortic valve stenosis amount to approximately more than 2.2 million in the age group of over 65 years old in China. MicroPort® entered the heart valve segment and launched the independent R&D of VitaFlow® in 2010. On July 10, MicroPort® CardioFlow received the registration certificate for VitaFlow® from National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA). In the future, MicroPort® as a leading provider of high-end and innovative therapeutic solutions will constantly widen the product range of heart valve implantation and intervention, and create integrated solutions for patients and doctors in the area of cardiovascular invention.