Boston Children’s Hospital has secured a $375,000 grant from Abiomed, a US-based provider of heart support technologies, for its newly founded cardiovascular care department.
The Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Center will utilise the fund for research and education initiatives in three main areas under its Advanced Cardiac Therapies (ACT) Programme.
The fund will be used to foster the understanding of basic pathophysiology and symptom correlation in paediatric heart failure patients.
The ACT programme will also engage researchers to assess the potential for multi-centre registries and improved methodologies for monitoring neurologic function and quality of life for paediatric patients who receive mechanical circulatory support.
Part of the funds will be allocated for investigating new cellular and genomic cardiac regeneration therapies that will stimulate myocardial recovery.
The Heart Center will integrate all paediatric specialists in order to treat both the heart and the whole child.
This integration paves the way for a more focused approach and a fully aligned research effort so that new therapies have the best chance of treating patients.
Boston Children’s Hospital president and CEO Sandra Fenwick said the hospital is very grateful for Abiomed’s generosity.
"This grant from Abiomed, supporting our scientific and clinical goals, will help us advance the care of children with advanced heart failure," Fenwick added.
Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Center is reportedly one of the most active paediatric heart failure and transplant facilities in the US.
Abiomed chairman, president and CEO Michael R Minogue said, "Abiomed is pleased to support Boston Children’s research and advancements for new, cutting-edge technologies in the field of pediatric cardiac care."
Boston Children’s Hospital, a 395-bed comprehensive centre for paediatric and adolescent health care, is also the primary paediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
Image: Boston Children’s Hospital – main entrance. Photo courtesy of JosephBarillari.
