Berlin Heart EXCOR®

The Pulse eNewsletter November 2025

The Pulse — Nov 2025

News, The Pulse

Happy Fall to All! We have many exciting updates to share, such as new pediatric Impella education materials for Providers and Patients/Families, a debrief of our incredibly successful first VAD Bootcamp, and many new publications and other tools. As we move into the holiday season, we reflect on our continued appreciation and thankfulness for the engagement and collaboration from all stakeholders that continue to excel our research, quality improvement, education, and advocacy efforts.

The Pulse — Nov 2025 Read More »

iDECIDE-VAD-PEDIATRIC: Development of a Decision Aid to Assist Children and Their Caregivers When Considering a Ventricular Assist Device

ACTION Publication, Publications

The iDECIDE-VAD-PEDIATRIC decision aid was developed to help families and clinicians navigate the unique challenges of pediatric ventricular assist device implantation by promoting consistent, values-based, and equitable decision-making.

iDECIDE-VAD-PEDIATRIC: Development of a Decision Aid to Assist Children and Their Caregivers When Considering a Ventricular Assist Device Read More »

The Pulse — Aug 2025

News, The Pulse

We hope you are enjoying your summer vacations and finding time to rest and rejuvenate with your families! ACTION has been busy with new publications, tools, resources, and projects (see links and features below). We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new VAD Adverse Event Definitions! These new and updated definitions will help us capture events more accurately and efficiently. The DCC also streamlined fields, improved forms, and added instructional text throughout to make data entry easier and faster. Thanks to all those who worked on this important project! Lastly, we are now taking proposals for ISHLT 2026, see more details below on the submission process.

The Pulse — Aug 2025 Read More »

Outcomes of Intracorporeal Continuous and Paracorporeal Pulsatile Ventricular Assist Devices in Pediatric Patients 10–30 kg

ACTION Publication, Publications

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) have been increasingly implanted in pediatric patients. Paracorporeal VADs are generally chosen when intracorporeal continuous (IC) devices are too large. Superiority between IC and paracorporeal pulsatile (PP) devices remains unclear in smaller pediatric patients. Our study analyzes outcomes of IC and PP VADs in pediatric patients who could be considered for either of these options.

Outcomes of Intracorporeal Continuous and Paracorporeal Pulsatile Ventricular Assist Devices in Pediatric Patients 10–30 kg Read More »

The Pulse — October 2023

News, The Pulse

Happy Fall to All!
We had a successful meeting in St. Louis during the International HF/VAD Summit, and it was great to see so many of you in person! We brainstormed new ideas for QI/Research projects, clinical trials, education projects, advocacy efforts, and ways to improve data collection and project participation. We also played ACTION Trivia — did you know ACTION now has 66 sites in North America and has 27 manuscripts published since 2019? We are starting to plan for our next in-person meeting, which will be at CHOP in February 2024. Details to follow soon…

The Pulse — October 2023 Read More »

First Pediatric Cardiac Device IDE Trial (Berlin Heart EXCOR® Active Driver) has Completed Enrollment Using the ACTION Registry

News, Press Release

ACTION, in conjunction with Berlin Heart, Inc., launched the first prospective FDA regulated device trial using a pediatric ventricular assist device (VAD) registry in November 2022. Enrollment in the trial has been completed as of August 11, 2023, just 10 months after launch. 

First Pediatric Cardiac Device IDE Trial (Berlin Heart EXCOR® Active Driver) has Completed Enrollment Using the ACTION Registry Read More »

The Pulse — July 2023

News, The Pulse

We hope you are enjoying your summer vacations and finding time to soak up the longer sunnier days of the year with your families!
Looking ahead to the Fall, we are working with several committees to prepare new projects for launch. Some of these projects include a new Discharge Bundle for VAD patients and new interventions for the Fontan Referral project. We have also been working diligently to increase enrollment and data entry in our heart failure and muscular dystrophy registries. This critical data will help support the development of future projects. We appreciate everyone’s efforts throughout the busy summer to keep our important ACTION work moving along!

The Pulse — July 2023 Read More »