CorWave device: Australian man receives heart implant at St Vincent's Hospital in world first

Sydney Morning Herald

09-07-2025

Jansz said the two-hour surgery was similar to that required for implant devices currently on the market, but its unique design had the potential to deliver enormous benefits for patients.
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'This represents a quantum leap in terms of technology,' he said. 'Very sick patients need a lot of blood flowing around their body … this new [implant] has the ability to pump, not only in a pulsatile manner, but in a greater volume.'
The device, which effectively bypasses the failing pump action of the left ventricle, is implanted to act as a bridge to transplantation: keeping the patient alive and well until a donor heart becomes available.
Smith is currently living in an apartment close to the hospital. He will return to Leeton in a few weeks, where he is looking forward to catching up with his sons and grandchildren – and getting back on the golf course.
'This transition period with the CorWave allows Michael to get better,' Jansz said. 'His kidneys are working normally, his brain and his heart's working well, he's nourished and he's essentially normal. That's a much better situation to go into a transplant with.'
Smith was the first of about 20 patients expected to receive the implant as part of a three-year clinical trial testing the device's efficacy. One other patient has since received the implant at St Vincent's.
Mimicking the behaviour of a normally functioning heart, the CorWave's oscillating membrane is driven by a single moving part that automatically adjusts blood flow based on what the patient needs – speeding up when the patient is moving and slowing down at times of rest.
This represents a major shift from traditional LVADs, which use a rotating impeller to pump a continuous and fixed flow of blood, without generating a pulse.
'The benefit is that it will be able to respond to exercise more efficiently, and it can be put in sync with the heartbeat … the hope is that will translate to better outcomes for patients,' said Professor Chris Hayward, the senior cardiologist at St Vincent's who led Smith's recovery.
Around 144,000 people in Australia live with heart failure, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates. It was the underlying cause of more than 5000 deaths and contributes to more than 170,000 hospitalisations each year.
St Vincent's implants about 60 LVADs a year, Hayward said.
The procedure is the latest milestone for the globally renowned team at St Vincent's, who in November implanted the world's first totally artificial heart.
The research trial has not received Australian government funding, but the device has attracted significant backing from governments and private investors in Europe.
Inspired by the movement of marine animals, the undulating membrane technology was conceived by former triple jumper Jean-Baptiste Drevet, who died in 2022.
CorWave chief executive Louis de Lillers said the device was the result of more than a decade of research and development by Paris-based engineers and doctors.
'We owe this moment to the trust of the patient, the excellence of the team at St Vincent's, and the perseverance of our team,' he said.
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