April 10, 2008 - SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t), is unveiling the prototype of its new four-pound Companion II Driver, the next generation in its Companion Driver System series, at the 28th annual meeting of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).
Weighing only four pounds, the Companion II is intended to be the smallest pneumatic driver for the artificial heart and designed to disappear into a fanny pack.
The Companion Drive System is designed to be docked into the Companion Hospital Cart for use in the operating room and intensive care unit. Once the CardioWest artificial heart patient is stable, the Drive Unit is designed to be re-docked into the Companion Discharge Caddy for mobility around the hospital and recovery at home. According to the manufacturer, Discharge reduces in-hospital costs for stable patients waiting for a donor heart at home.
SynCardia will submit an application to the FDA this year to conduct an IDE clinical study of the Companion Drive System at 22 U.S. hospitals. SynCardia has been working with the FDA and CMS for more than a year to bring this new technology to its patients.
For more information: www.syncardia.com
November 20, 2023 
