What is the UPright™ System?
The UPright™ System is an investigational device for people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who still have symptoms despite treatment.
It is a small implant placed in the two arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs. It is not a medicine and it is not a pump.
Designed to lower pressure during activity
In HFrEF, breathlessness during activity is caused by pressure that builds up in the left side of the heart and backs up into the lungs.
The implants apply controlled banding to the two arteries leading to the lungs. This is designed to lower the pressure reaching the lungs and the left side of the heart during activity, so the heart is under less strain.
At rest
Pressure stays low.
During activity
Pressure rises and backs up into the lungs.
During activity, with the implant
The design goal: a smaller rise in pressure.
Illustration of the design goal only. It does not show measured results.
How it is implanted
The implants are placed through a vein in the leg, using a thin tube (a catheter). No open-heart surgery is needed.
Where it is being studied
ContraBand™ Safety & Feasibility Study, actively enrolling
This study is actively enrolling. 30+ patients have taken part so far, and they have been followed for an average of 30 months.
RESTORE-HF, planned
A study called RESTORE-HF is planned, subject to FDA approval. Patients would be assigned by chance to receive either the device or a similar procedure without it.
What the ContraBand™ study looked at
The study measured pressures inside the heart and lungs during exercise, how far patients could walk in six minutes, and how patients rated their own quality of life. Early results have been presented at medical conferences and published in a medical journal.
An investigational device
The UPright™ System is limited by law to investigational use and is not approved for sale. Nothing on this page is medical advice. Always talk to your own doctor about your condition and treatment options.