The first implant of the Pascal mitral valve repair device (Edwards Lifesciences) in the CLASP IID pivotal trial has been performed at the Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center (Morrison, USA). The CLASP IID trial—with Linda Gillam (Morristown Medical Center), Scott Lim (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA), and Rob Smith (The Heart Hospital Baylor, Plano, USA) as the principal investigators—will evaluate the Pascal device for the management of patients with degenerative mitral valve regurgitation.
A press release reports that Morristown Medical Center’s Structural Heart Team (led by interventional cardiologists Robert Kipperman and Philippe Genereux, cardiac imaging specialists Konstantinos Koulogiannis and Leo Marcoff, and cardiovascular surgeon John Brown III) have been instrumental in pioneering and evaluating this novel procedure.
Kipperman, an investigator in the CLASP IID trial, comments: “As a nationally ranked heart hospital, Morristown Medical Center is proud to be the first hospital in the world to implant this device as part of this pivotal trial. Our cardiac team was chosen for this prestigious opportunity based on our expertise, excellent outcomes, best-in-class imaging, and extensive experience with transcatheter valve replacement or repair procedures.”
Gillam notes: “We are extremely honoured to implant the first device in this trial and to make this therapy available for those we care for.”
According to the press release, because of its infrastructure to support research through the Atlantic Center for Research, volume, and earned credibility with the sponsors of trials (pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical device companies), Morristown Medical Center is able to offer cutting edge and novel clinical trials for the treatment of heart valve disease.
