Sorin Group Announces Global Launch of Its Latest Generation of Heating and Cooling Systems at FECECT 2015

Sorin Group (MIL:SRN), (Reuters Code: SORN.MI), a global medical company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced the launch of its latest generation of heating and cooling systems, FlexTherm, at FECECT 2015, the 16^th European Congress on Extracorporeal Circulation Technology.

During open-heart surgery procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass, the heating and cooling system is used to control and manage the patient’s body temperature by cooling and re-warming blood during the different phases of surgery, through the oxygenator system, and to cool the cardioplegia solution delivered to achieve the patient’s myocardial protection.

Different re-warming strategies have been associated with postoperative neurocognitive function in adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Precise temperature control during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures may contribute to decrease morbidity after coronary revascularization and to lower the risk of postoperative impairment of the neurocognitive function, thus improving patient outcome^{. 1}

A simple, display-guided disinfection procedure, which includes a reminder function, reduces operator time and provides maximum protection against bacteria. The new process takes only 35 minutes operator time once every 14 days. The safe and effective, display-guided procedure eliminates the risk for errors. Streamlining the disinfection process maximizes safety for the patients against infections and reduces the time dedicated to disinfection, helping decrease the overall cost of care for hospitals.

"FlexTherm guided disinfection procedure is a huge improvement versus the previous generation 3T heater-cooler system: it is easier and faster for clinicians. It saves operator’s time, reduces hospital costs and resource utilization and, even more important, it minimizes the risk of errors and provides reminders on how to conduct disinfection for the safety of our patients,” said Dr. Dirk Buchwald, Chief of Cardiovascular Perfusion at Bergmannsheil University Hospital in Bochum, Germany, after using FlexTherm for the first time.

FlexTherm is equipped with three water tanks, each with a different temperature setting, allocated to three independent water circuits. This design enables superior temperature control and maximum flexibility for use in various simultaneous applications. Precise water flow measurement ensures efficacy and increased control in energy transfer when heating and cooling the patient.

FlexTherm is the latest addition to the Sorin HeartLink System, the first automatically integrated perfusion management system designed for improved patient outcomes, increased clinical efficacy and Goal-

Directed Perfusion, built on the world-leading Sorin S5 perfusion system. It links to the Sorin Connect data management system, which automatically collects, monitors, and records the heating and cooling process during the intervention for complete traceability and data management.

In 2014 the production area at Sorin Group Deutschland in Munich was increased by 20% to manufacture FlexTherm completely in house. Munich is Sorin Group’s center of excellence for manufacturing cardiac surgery equipment such as the S5 and the C5 heart-lung-machines, the Xtra autotransfusion machine and the Connect data management system. This allows Sorin Group total control over the manufacturing processes, enhancing the strategic know-how and leadership in the heart-lung machines segment.

"FlexTherm is a very nice complement to the S5 family,” said Roel Hendrickx, perfusionist at Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, who controlled remotely the FlexTherm system located outside the operating room, from the S5 heart-lung machine.

"Another significant improvement in FlexTherm is its S5-like user interface. The user interface is similar to the S5 displays; it is therefore intuitive and easy to understand. In addition, FlexTherm is very silent, even when cooling”, said Krzysztof Klak, perfusionist at the Bergmannsheil University Hospital, Bochum, Germany.

"We are proud to introduce FlexTherm as the newest cardiac surgery solution that Sorin Group offers to hospitals worldwide,” said Michel Darnaud, President, Cardiac Surgery Business Unit, Sorin Group, ” FlexTherm is the latest addition to Sorin HeartLink^TM System, the unique automatically integrated perfusion management system designed for improved patient outcomes, increased clinical efficacy and Goal-Directed Perfusion”.

1. B Bikash Sahu et Al. Neurocognitive Function in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass: The Effect of Two Different Rewarming Strategies. Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. Published Online: September 25, 2008.

About Sorin Group
Sorin Group (www.sorin.com) is a global, medical device company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The Company develops, manufactures, and markets medical technologies for cardiac surgery and for the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders. With 3,900 employees worldwide,Sorin Group focuses on two major therapeutic areas: Cardiac Surgery (cardiopulmonary products for open heart surgery and heart valve repair or replacement prostheses) and Cardiac Rhythm Management (pacemakers, defibrillators and non invasive monitoring to diagnose arrhythmias and deliver anti-arrhythmia therapies as well as cardiac resynchronization devices for heart failure treatment) Every year, over one million patients are treated with Sorin Group devices in more than 100 countries.

For more information, please visit www.sorin.com

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