biology

SynCardia Systems

SynCardia Systems is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SynCardia Systems rather than just read about it. In short: SynCardia Systems, LLC, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, was founded in 2001 and is the sole manufacturer and provider of the world's only clinically proven and commercially approved Total Artificial Heart. The SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH) has been in clinical use for more than 35 years.

Key takeaways

SynCardia Systems belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SynCardia Systems to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SynCardia Systems from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SynCardia Systems, LLC, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, was founded in 2001 and is the sole manufacturer and provider of the world's only clinically proven and commercially approved Total Artificial Heart. The SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH) has been in clinical use for more than 35 years.

History SynCardia was founded in 2001 by cardiothoracic surgeon Jack G. Copeland, MD; biomedical engineer Richard G. Smith, MSEE, CCE; and interventional cardiologist Marvin J. Slepian, MD; with Steven Langford BSEE, as General Manager. Today, SynCardia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Picard Medical and remains the sole manufacturer and provider of the world’s only commercially approved Total Artificial Heart. In clinical use for more than 35 years, the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t) is the most widely used and extensively studied Total Artificial Heart in the world. In 2004, the FDA approved the SynCardia TAH (formerly known as the "CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart”) as a bridge to donor heart transplant in cardiac transplant-eligible candidates at risk of imminent death from end-stage biventricular failure. SynCardia's products include the original 70cc TAH; the newer, smaller 50cc TAH, designed to fit patients of smaller stature, including more women and adolescents; the Companion 2 (C2) Hospital Driver, which provides pneumatic power to the TAH from implant through patient recovery in the hospital; and the Freedom Portable Driver, a smaller, portable pneumatic pump for the TAH that allows stable patients who meet discharge criteria to enjoy life at home while they wait for a matching donor heart. In addition to its being used as a bridge to transplant in the U.S., Canada and Europe, the 70cc TAH has supported several patients as a destination therapy in adult patients who are not eligible for transplant. The longest patient supported by the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart on a person who became not eligible for transplant was over 6 years and 9 months. He lived a near normal lifestyle at home with his wife. The smaller 50cc TAH is currently approved for use as a bridge to transplant for both pediatric and adult patients. In September 2016, SynCardia was acquired by Versa Capital Management, LLC, a Philadelphia-based private equity investment firm and then was acquired by Piccard Medical in September 2021, which has provided additional financial and operational resources. A documentary about the SynCardia TAH was released in 2016. Patrick Schnegelsberg was named CEO of SynCardia.

See also Artificial heart Artificial heart valve Wayne Griffin Jack G. Copeland

References

External links Company website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SynCardia Systems

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SynCardia Systems claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SynCardia Systems before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SynCardia Systems ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SynCardia Systems

In research: SynCardia Systems appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SynCardia Systems in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SynCardia Systems is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cardiology, Companies based in Tucson, Arizona, Implants (medicine), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SynCardia Systems outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SynCardia Systems in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SynCardia Systems means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SynCardia Systems out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SynCardia Systems in simple terms?

Why does SynCardia Systems matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SynCardia Systems?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SynCardia Systems.