ViVitro Labs introduces new products, services, leadership at TCT 2013

Sales up 150% for flagship cardiovascular device testing products and services

SAN FRANCISCO, California –  ViVitro Labs today announced 150% increase in sales year to date over 2012, expanded cardiovascular device clean room testing services, new products and new company leadership at the 25th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

Record revenues from global demand confirm the continued popularity of the world’s first and most widely used heart model since 1984.   The ViVitro Pulse Duplicator enables hydrodynamic testing to determine valve performance and acts as a physiological heart model to generate peripheral flows.  View Company Overview Video.

Debuting in stand 1136, the ViVitro Real-Time Wear Tester (RWT) tests large prosthetic heart valves and cardiovascular devices that don’t fit in standard fatigue testers.  Built on the ViVitro SuperPump, it is customizable for specific valves and valve mounting arrangements (including conduit mounted valve holders).

Launching on November 1, 2013, a Class 100,000 Clean Room at ViVitro Labs in Victoria B.C. has capabilities up to class 10,000 and is part of a range of expanded facilities for laboratory and product customization.   Jason Dolynny, Director of Manufacturing: “The clean room allows a wider range of testing services. In addition to testing services, we can deliver custom prototypes requiring a clean room manufacturing environment and meet requests for higher volume medical disposables.”  View Lab Overview Video.

Three new employees participating in TCT 2013 are part of ViVitro Labs’ commitment to continued excellence in management and cardiovascular device expertise: Gerry Wight, B. Eng., General Manager; Dr. Dev Amatya, Senior Research Biomedical Engineer; and Rob Fraser, Biomedical Engineer, MSc.

Gerry Wight is the General Manager of ViVitro Labs.  Bringing 30 years’ experience at technology companies in a variety of different customer facing roles to ViVitro Labs, Gerry’s first area of focus is customer service and satisfaction. Gerry Wight’s previous roles include General Manager of an RFID medical tracking product company, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a radio manufacturer and Sales, Marketing and Product Management roles with well-known telecom manufacturers. Gerry is on the Board of Directors of the Victoria Advanced Technology Council.  View Gerry Wight’s TCT 2013 Welcome Video.

“Since joining ViVitro Labs in September, I’ve been impressed with the caliber of our customers and their commitment to ViVitro Labs products and staff.  I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many clients in person or by phone.  And I look forward to getting to know many more at TCT 2013.”

Dr. Dev Amatya is responsible for continued expertise of particle image velocimetry flow visualization.  Involved in research publications of in vitro simulations of physiological diseased states, Dr. Amatya is an active technical committee member (Cardiovascular Implants and extracorporeal systems) in the Standard Council of Canada (Canadian participation in ISO and IEC).

Dr. Amatya brings over 10 years of experience in the cardiovascular device community, receiving his PhD from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota.  His expertise lies in conducting hydrodynamic and flow visualization testing of tissue engineered and polymeric heart valve substitutes.  He has conducted post-doctorate research with a cardiac surgeon assessing the performance and clinical outcomes of left ventricular assist devices,  worked with an interventional radiologist on the development of a novel flexible catheter intended to deliver stents to higher cerebral vasculature, and performed research and product development work at Cook Medical.

Rob Fraser is responsible for lab operations including testing adherence with ViVitro Labs’ ISO 17025 Quality Management System. He specializes in hydrodynamic and durability testing of prosthetic heart valves and other various cardiovascular devices. Mr. Fraser earned his M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, Queen’s University, and B.Sc. Mechanical Biomedical Engineering Coop, University of Alberta.  His academic projects include: Reducing the Effects of MRI Acoustic Noise Using Noise-Evoked Activity in the Auditory Cortex as a Measure and Glaucoma Drainage Device (working with Ophthalmologists to design a novel implantable medical device). Since joining the ViVitro Labs testing team in February 2013, improvements include a 250% increase in lab durability testing capacity, 50% more lab staff and implementing project scheduling using StarFish Medical QMS.  Results are higher on-time delivery, better satisfaction, and faster turnaround.

About ViVitro Labs

ViVitro Labs Inc. offers industry-leading cardiovascular test equipment and related laboratory testing and consulting services. Hundreds of organizations in over 39 countries for  25+ years have trusted ViVitro expertise, accuracy, and quality for their heart valve, LVAD, TAH, stent, and graft testing.

ViVitro Laboratory Services holds ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation based on ISO 5840. ViVitro products are manufactured by StarFish Medical. ViVitro’s A2LA Scope of Accreditation includes the physical and mechanical testing of heart valve substitutes.

For more information please contact:

Mike Camplin

250.388.3537 x210