Session Organizers: Teri Whitman, Medtronic and Bradley Clark, Masonic Children's Hospital
Designing minimally invasive, implantable, permanent cardiac devices for pediatrics combines the challenge of safe delivery and placement of a device through tiny vasculature with the challenges of chronic device performance under changing use conditions as the body grows. This session will highlight implantable cardiac rhythm devices and structural heart device examples.
Percutaneous Pericardial Procedures in Pediatrics
Charles Berul
Children's National Heart Institute
Bio: Charles Berul, MD is division chief of Cardiology and co-director of the Children's National Heart Institute. He earned both his bachelor’s degree in Biology and master’s degree in Pharmacology from Bucknell University in 1984 and received his M.D. from University of Maryland in 1988. Dr. Berul completed Pediatrics residency at Yale, followed by fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He was the director of the Pacemaker and Defibrillator Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School until moving to lead the Children’s National Cardiology program in 2009. Dr. Berul is a tenured professor of Pediatrics and Bioengineering at George Washington University School of Medicine, and holds the endowed chair Van Metre Companies Professorship in Cardiology.
Dr. Berul is actively involved in key organizations such as the Heart Rhythm Society, the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and Pediatric and Congenital EP Society (PACES), of which he was past president. He is currently an Associate Editor for Heart Rhythm Journal. Dr. Berul has mentored dozens of trainees and advocates for young investigators and clinician-scientists. Over the past 3 decades, his research focus and passion is to develop novel minimally-invasive approaches to the heart and improving methods for pediatric pacing and defibrillation. Dr. Berul has more than 300 publications and is an invited speaker nationally and internationally in the area of pediatric cardiac electrophysiology and miniaturized device development.
Challenges of Pediatric and ACHD Defibrillation
Elizabeth DeWitt
Boston Children's Hospital
Dr. DeWitt completed medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, and then came to the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center for internship and residency in Pediatrics. She stayed on for Cardiology fellowship, during which time she served as Chief Fellow. She completed a senior fellowship in Electrophysiology at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. DeWitt is currently a member of the Electrophysiology Division at Boston Children’s Hospital. She takes care of patients with heart rhythm disorders, in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. She also performs arrhythmia ablations and pacemaker, defibrillator and implantable loop recorder implants. In addition, she cares for patients with inherited cardiomyopathies and associated arrhythmias, including arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. She is the Electrophysiology representative for the Heterotaxy Program and the Medical Director of the Surgical Electrophysiology Program, an intradisciplinary program that aims to improve outcomes for patients. The current focus of this clinical program and research efforts is to decrease postoperative heart block by using electrophysiology mapping to identify conduction tissue at the time of the surgical repair.
Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder
Andrea Asleson
Design Engineer, Abbott Structural Heart
Abstract: The Abbott Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder is a nonsurgical patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure device designed for the smallest of pediatric patients. Piccolo can be used in patients who weigh at least 700g and are 3 days of age at the time of the procedure.
Bio: Andrea Asleson is a R&D Clinical Engineer for Abbott Structural Heart working on occluders for stroke prevention. Andrea has 20 years of medical device industry experience including Medtronic CRM research where she focused on new procedures and therapies.
Design Challenges of the Harmony Valve
Victoria Tien
Sr. R&D Engineer, Medtronic
Abstract: The Harmony transcatheter pulmonary valve (TPV) is intentionally designed to treat pediatric and adult patients with severe pulmonary regurgitation who have a native or surgically repaired right ventricular outflow track (RVOT) - offering patients a minimally invasive treatment option. The device conforms to the anatomy and has an integrated valve and frame to allow a one-step delivery.
Bio: Victoria Tien is a Sr R&D Engineer at Medtronic Structural Heart and Aortic. She has been working on developing the Harmony transcatheter pulmonary valve for treating congenital heart disease patients. Victoria has 15 years of medical device industry experience focusing on transcatheter heart valve technologies and therapies.
Session Organizer Bios
Bradley Clark, Masonic Children's Hospital
Bradley Clark, MD is the director of pediatric electrophysiology at Masonic Children's Hospital and specializes in the treatment of arrhythmias in pediatric patients and those with congenital heart disease. Bradley has experience in the design of novel devices for use in the pediatric space and extensive background in both clinical and translational research.
Teri Whitman
Medtronic
Bio: Teri Whitman, PhD leads a research team for Medtronic cardiac rhythm devices focused on procedures and new therapies. Teri has 25 years of medical device industry experience. Research interests include minimally invasive procedures for pacing and defibrillation therapies and novel heart failure therapies.