China Marches into the Era of Interventional Direct Annuloplasty

Launching of the 1st Human Implantation of “DragonRing” – Catheter-based Mitral Annuloplasty Device

HANGZHOU, China, Nov. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On October 28, 2022, a multidisciplinary, and international cardiac team led by Professor Mao Chen from Department of Cardiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, successfully performed the world’s first human implantation of “DragonRing”, which is the first interventional transfemoral direct annuloplasty ring system innovated in China that simulates the atrioventricular annuloplasty technology from contemporary cardiac surgery. Completely and independently developed by Hangzhou Valgen Medtech Co., Ltd., DragonRing is designed to effectively treat functional mitral valve regurgitation by cinching the dilated annulus, particularly focusing on the patient population with atrial fibrillation as the primary etiology of their mitral regurgitation. Professor David Scott Lim, Director of the Advanced Cardiac Valve Center, University of Virginia, USA, Professor Azeem Latib, Section Head of Interventional Cardiology, Montefiore Medical Center, USA, and Professor Felix Kreidel, Head of the Department of Cardiology, Schleswig-Holstein University, Germany, conducted technique exchanges together with Professor Mao Chen’s team through remote video conferencing.