Medtronic has launched a new ECMO system called VitalFlow, which is designed to provide extracorporeal life support between bedside care and intrahospital transport, according to the company.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways
- Introduction of VitalFlow ECMO System: Medtronic’s VitalFlow ECMO system is designed to support extracorporeal life during bedside care and intrahospital transport, featuring a user-friendly touch screen, high configurability, and long-term performance with the Medtronic Nautilus oxygenator.
- Addressing Clinician Needs with Portability and Simplicity: Based on feedback from clinicians, VitalFlow simplifies ECMO use for varying experience levels and allows for easy transport between hospital departments, enhancing efficient and confident patient care.
- Expansion of Cardiac Surgery Portfolio: VitalFlow marks Medtronic’s latest innovation following its acquisition of MC3 Cardiopulmonary, reflecting Medtronic’s commitment to advancing cardiac surgery technologies, including heart valves, ablation, LAAM, and ECMO therapies for comprehensive patient care.
The VitalFlow ECMO system features a large, intuitive touch screen that centralizes real-time performance data, offers configurability, and is built for long-term performance incorporating the Medtronic Nautilus ECMO oxygenator design.
The system is a configurable one-system ECMO solution that “bridges the gap between bedside care and intra-hospital transport, offering physicians and clinicians an easier, smarter ECMO experience,” Medtronic said in a press release.
“In gathering feedback from hundreds of clinicians with diverse ECMO specialties, we were able to design the VitalFlow system to address the most pressing unmet needs of simplicity, configurability and performance in an ECMO system,” said Karim Bandali, PhD, president of the Cardiac Surgery business within the Cardiovascular portfolio at Medtronic. “The simplicity of the VitalFlow system allows multiple users with varying levels of comfort to serve patients confidently and efficiently. It is easily portable from various departments within the hospital setting, with durable and reliable performance.”
The VitalFlow technology is the most innovative technology to-date from the Medtronic acquisition of MC3 Cardiopulmonary, which closed in March 2024. The acquisition marked the culmination of an eight-year partnership and distribution agreement with the Medtronic Cardiac Surgery business resulting in the introduction of seven new ECMO products in seven years. Prior to the acquisition, MC3 Cardiopulmonary consistently developed and manufactured differentiated, high-quality ECMO products, which were exclusively distributed by Medtronic. These products, including catheters and oxygenators, are distinguished by their ability to simplify therapy and enhance ease of use. Additionally, the partnership has reliably supplied these long-term indicated products throughout the COVID pandemic and beyond.
“The launch of this technology further underscores Medtronic’s unwavering dedication to developing life-restoring medical devices that address both acute and chronic cardiopulmonary clinical needs, and demonstrates our sustained commitment to this vital field,” Bandali added. “This announcement builds on our recent acquisitions, including a Viant Medical contract manufacturing site and the Penditure Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion System. Clinicians can continue to expect a global cadence of bold and unique innovations, focused on addressing diverse clinician needs while enhancing our ability to meet the needs of all cardiac surgery patients.”
“Clinicians in the ECMO space have evolving needs,” said Pieter Kappetein, PhD, MD, chief medical officer, Cardiac Surgery, Medtronic. “With patients’ diseases becoming more complex, there is a growing demand for innovative solutions and comprehensive commitments across multiple disease states. Clinicians expect more from Medtronic and we are uniquely positioned to meet these needs to advance treatment options to better serve their patients.”
These latest acquisitions enable Medtronic to offer the most robust Cardiac Surgery portfolio available today. As the only business that serves the whole heart care team of cardiac surgeons and perfusionists, Medtronic is committed to innovating in heart valves, surgical ablation, left atrial appendage management (LAAM), revascularization, perfusion, cannulation technologies, and ECMO therapies to advance treatment options, providing distinct benefits to physicians and clinicians, enabling them to focus on the holistic lifetime management of patients.
