When Jeff Poland and Nancy Salyer first purchased the Century Heart-Lung Machine back in 2004, the two thought that some Internet marketing, an internal sales team, and a strong product was all they needed to be successful on the market with the device.

The group's very purpose for forming Salyer Biomedical was so that it could acquire and market the device.

"We were naive, because as clinicians we thought this was a great product and that it could sell itself. We were naively trying to sell this through word of mouth," Poland, who is president of Salyer Biomedical (St. Louis), told Medical Device Daily.

The company found out very quickly that it needed help to market this device, and teamed up with med-tech giant Medtronic (Minneapolis).

The two companies recently reported an exclusive sales arrangement to make the Century Heart Lung Machine, manufactured by Salyer Biomedical, available from Medtronic.

The arrangement is also said to help expand Medtronic's huge portfolio of extracorporeal support products, which now includes a complete line of capital equipment and disposables needed in the performance of on-pump cardiac surgery.

"Medtronic provides us with a global sales force," Poland told MDD. "They have a great team in place and we have a great device, this is a win-win situation for both of us."

With a modular design that offers ease of maintenance and adaption with other perfusion equipment, the company said that the Century Heart-Lung Machine has set a standard for roller pump heart-lung machines for the past 25 years by providing a reliable and durable solution for a key piece of capital for cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

In addition to Century's safety features and servo functions for roller pumps, the Medtronic BioConsole 560 can be integrated to add a centrifugal pump with safety features and servo functions.

"The device is of a marginal design and units were built to last about 20 years," Poland said. "It's very economical and is almost half the cost of other perfusion devices."

Another key factor is the relatively small amount of space the Century Heart-Lung takes up, according to Poland.

Other features include a roller pump display on the device that makes it simple and easy to read. The system's computer will automatically calibrate for flow. Once the clinician enters the tubing size, the device will perform the calculations – even for dual-tube cardioplegia ratios or variable size tubing.

The Century features exclusive rapid/fine flow control knobs. The company said that the device offers precise perfusion control in low flow conditions, important factors during cardioplegia and neonatal surgery.

The computer's cardioplegia delivery system can track last volume delivered, total volume delivered, and time since last delivery.

The company also said that an individual pump faces clean up fast because most knobs and crevices have been eliminated from the design. Overhangs help direct spills away from the Heart-Lung Machine and liquids that splash on the system are collected by a tray and drip gutters.

The Century's computer also has important built in safety features including the AEPS (Air Emboli Protection System); reservoir level sensor; and pressure regulation, which protects against accidental occlusion.

Poland said that next step in the partnership with Medtronic was to gain CE mark approval for the device.

"We already have the 510(k) approval but what we want to do now is get the CE mark," Poland said. "We really want to get the device back out there and with Medtronic providing us a global sales force, we can do just that."

Omar Ford, 404-262-5546;
omar.ford@ahcmedia.com