Nearly 100,000 Americans die each year when a clot breaks away from a blood vessel wall and lodge within the lungs or heart. Several factors can cause a blood clot including:
- Certain medications
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Family history
- Heart arrhythmias
- Obesity
- Surgery
- Prolonged sitting or bed rest
- Smoking.
If one suffered from pulmonary hypertension, a dangerous narrowing of blood vessels connecting the heart and lungs, and a large blood clot was attached to the end of a catheter inside the right atrial chamber of one’s heart, the consequence could be catastrophic.
Researchers at the UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center (SCVC) now discovered a new technology capable of removing blood clots to save patients from potentially fatal outcomes without performing open-heart surgery.
Researchers at UC San Diego use a catheter-based device, named AngioVac system, in which thin tubes are inserted into two major veins in the body through the neck or groin area. Under X-ray guidance, the flexible tubes are advanced to the proximal veins, right-sided heart chambers or lung arteries. Each is equipped with an expandable, balloon-shaped funnel tip that, when attached to a bypass circuit, vacuums the targeted material, such as a blood clot out of the body.
In the past, there was only a few treatment options to treat blood clots. But these treatments have some obvious limits:
- Medications can be used to dissolve blood clots but it does not work for those patients in a life-threatening situation.
- Open-heart surgery takes much longer time to perform and often requires the surgeon to divide the breastbone lengthwise down the middle and spread the halves apart to access the heart. Removing a blood clot through open-heart surgery results in longer hospitalization, recovery and rehabilitation times.
The novel treatment allows researchers to safely extract material and prevent the patient from having to undergo invasive, high-risk surgery. The treatment is performed by a multidisciplinary team comprised of anesthesiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and interventional cardiologists. Six patients at UC San Diego Health system have undergone the treatment, which can be completed in as little as one hour with patients typically able to walk and leave the hospital the following day.
About the UC San Diego Health System
UC San Diego Health System has long been at the forefront of “bench-to-bedside” research, transforming patient care through discovery and innovation leading to new drugs and technologies. It is carried out every day in the hundreds of clinical trials of promising new therapies offered through UC San Diego Health System, and in the drive of researchers and clinician-scientists who are committed to having a significant impact on patient care.
Numerous novel research discoveries help UC San Diego Health System attract a significant amount of research funding. In 2013 UC San Diego received 847 grants of $362 million from the National Institutes of Health and received more than $245 million as of July 2014.
Create A Connection With UC San Diego
The 38th Semiannual Biotechnology Vendor Showcase™ Event at UC San Diego on August 28th2014 is a perfect opportunity for laboratory supply companies to connect with academic researchers in Southern California.
Laboratory supply companies are invited to the event:
- To enjoy an strategic integrated marketing opportunities
- To spread strategic connections in an engaged receptive audience
- To create great visibility in a target market
- To gain excellent sales leads
- To enjoy a delicious catering lunch
Last year, the Biotechnology Vendor Showcase™ Event at the University of California, San Diego attracted 644 attendees. Of these attendees, 214 were purchasing agents, professors and post docs, and 83 were lab managers. These attendees came from 54 different research buildings and 61 on-campus departments.
If you are a laboratory supply company interested in participate in the 38th Semiannual Biotechnology Vendor Showcase™ Event at UC San Diego on August 28th 2014, please click the button below for more information.
There are more than 60 events available at different institutions across the nation. Please read:National Show Schedule for 2014.