National triumphed business blueprint contest claimed by HeartGate
The HeartGate project, led by Prof. Dr. Martin Czerny, has won first place at the Science4Life Venture Cup 2025. This annual competition is aimed at startup teams and young companies in the fields of life sciences and chemistry, and is organized by the non-profit initiative Science4Life e.V. and supported by the Hessian state government and the company Sanofi.
The HeartGate system is a novel method for implanting a heart pump without the use of a heart-lung machine, addressing the high risks associated with the current implantation process of heart pumps. This minimally invasive approach aims to reduce complications, increase safety, and make the procedure possible for patients who could not be operated on for health reasons in the past.
The system consists of a special punch and a blood-tight seal, enabling the implantation of a heart pump without the need for a heart-lung machine. This could lead to shorter surgery times for patients, improving care for people with heart failure, as stated by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bothe, Senior Physician of the Clinic for Cardiac and Vascular Surgery.
The Science4Life Venture Cup prize money for 2025 was 25,000 euros, and the award confirms the medical relevance and societal and economic significance of the HeartGate project, according to Prof. Dr. Bothe. Dr. Florian Meißner and Manuela Schön were the winners of the competition.
While LVADs (left ventricular assist devices) like the HeartMate 3 help heart failure patients by mechanically assisting the heart's pumping function, traditional LVAD implantation often requires the use of a heart-lung machine during surgery. Minimally invasive techniques aim to reduce surgical trauma and may avoid or limit the use of extracorporeal circulation (heart-lung machine), but the HeartGate system as a named minimally invasive method without heart-lung machine use is not widely covered in current search results or literature.
The HeartGate project's victory at the Science4Life Venture Cup 2025 marks a significant step forward in the development and recognition of this promising new method for heart pump implantation. The award ceremony took place in July, and the HeartGate system continues to be a topic of interest in the life sciences field, particularly for those seeking innovative solutions to improve heart failure care.
References: [1] "HeartMate 3: The World's Smallest Heart Pump | Abbott" (https://www.abbott/heartmate3.html)
The HeartGate project,winning at the Science4Life Venture Cup 2025, presents a novel, minimally invasive method for heart pump implantation in medical-conditions like heart failure, aiming to reduce complications, increase safety, and address health-and-wellness concerns for patients who may not have previously been operable. This achievement in science could potentially revolutionize the field of health-and-wellness and the treatment of heart-related medical-conditions.
