Since heart attacks most often damage the left ventricle, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have become the treatment of choice for end-stage heart failure (HF) patients in this country. But pure product prices for today’s LVADs, which had previously been relegated to use only in end-stage disease but now are moving towards the treatment of earlier-stage HF patients, run as high as $120,000 per unit. Preliminary price estimates for a new partial circulatory support device developed by Abiomed Inc., known as Symphony, are less than half that amount, pointing to enormous potential savings for the system should Symphony become an established therapy for even a portion of earlier-stage patients, which appears to be the current plan.
Implantation of the Symphony device requires neither a thoracotomy nor a sternotomy. The Symphony pump is implanted in a pacemaker-like pocket under the skin of the chest with a single...