On September 26, Medtronic's official website announced the launch of a new ECMO system called VitalFlow™. This is a configurable single-system ECMO solution built on simplicity and performance.

According to the official website, the VitalFlow system has a large, intuitive touch screen that centrally displays real-time performance data, provides configurability, and uses the proven Medtronic Nautilus™ ECMO oxygenator design to achieve long-term stable performance. Medtronic said that the VitalFlow™ ECMO system bridges the gap between bedside care and in-hospital transportation, providing clinicians with an easier and smarter ECMO experience. Dr. Karim Bandali, president of the cardiac surgery business within the Medtronic cardiovascular product portfolio, believes that the VitalFlow system is simple and easy to use, allowing users with different comfort levels to serve patients confidently and efficiently. It can be easily moved between different departments of the hospital and has durable and reliable performance. In March 2024, Medtronic completed the acquisition of MC3 Cardiopulmonary.

Medtronic believes that VitalFlow™ technology is the most innovative technology of Medtronic. The acquisition of MC3 Cardiopulmonary has so far been completed. It is understood that the two parties have had an eight-year partnership and distribution agreement, during which a total of seven new ECMO products have been launched. Prior to the acquisition, MC3 Cardiopulmonary has been developing and manufacturing differentiated, high-quality ECMO products, which are exclusively distributed by Medtronic. In addition, the partnership has reliably provided these long-term indicated products throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), as an important advanced continuous extracorporeal life support technology, is mainly used clinically to support cardiac and/or respiratory insufficiency. It has become a key technology for the treatment of difficult-to-control severe heart failure and respiratory failure. The application scenarios of ECMO technology in China are currently mainly concentrated in tertiary hospitals, and have gradually sunk to other tertiary hospitals and secondary hospitals. According to Yifangbao data, the main ECMO brands used nationwide in 2023 are foreign brands such as Germany's MycoVie, Fresenius, Italy's Sorin, and the United States' Medtronic. However, with the breakthrough from 0 to 1 achieved by domestic ECMO, domestic brands have begun to emerge.

Domestic ECMO manufacturers such as Shenzhen Hanno Medical, Jiangsu Saiteng and Beijing Aerospace New Long March have occupied nearly 30% of the market share, and their market share will rise again in the first quarter of 2024. In addition, ECMO products under development by domestic ECMO manufacturers such as Xinqing Medical and Life Shield Medical have entered the preclinical research and development stage, continuously breaking the technological gap. Compared with Europe and the United States, China's ECMO use is seriously insufficient. According to the data of the "China Medical Device Industry Development Report (2022)", Germany has an average of one ECMO for every 20,000 to 40,000 people, while China currently has an average of one ECMO for every 2.8 million people, which is a huge gap in ECMO penetration compared with Germany. However, in recent years, the use of ECMO in China has shown a trend of rapid growth year by year. According to Frost & Sullivan statistics, the use rate of ECMO was 0.01/100,000 residents in 2014, 0.09/100,000 residents in 2016, and 0.46/100,000 residents in 2019, with an annual compound growth rate of 115.1%.

The sharp increase in demand during the epidemic, coupled with the promotion of favorable policies and the release of expert consensus in recent years, the number of ECMO cases in China is showing explosive growth. In the promotion of the medical equipment update project carried out nationwide this time, some regions have included ECMO in the update sequence. For example, Anhui Province proposed to support national regional medical centers, provincial high-level hospitals, key hospitals with Chinese medicine characteristics, etc., with a focus on medical imaging, radiotherapy, remote diagnosis and treatment, surgical robots and other equipment, and configure extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), ventilators, remote monitoring and other life support equipment. In addition, with the continuous update of clinical needs, ECMO equipment is developing in the direction of portability, informatization, and intelligence, and higher requirements are placed on the portability, endurance, and stability of the product. For example, the cardiohelp cardiopulmonary assist system of Maikewei can provide patients with portable cardiopulmonary circulation support. The new generation of portable ECMO launched by Medtronic this time also bridges the gap between bedside care and in-hospital transportation. The development of medical levels between regions in my country is unbalanced, and there is a strong demand for the transfer of critically ill patients.

In May this year, the National Health Commission issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Critical Care Medical Service Capacity", which mentioned that critical care medical staff should be arranged in the national emergency medical rescue team, and equipped with ventilators, ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), monitors and other equipment as well as necessary portable equipment. At present, domestic ECMO manufacturers such as Hanno Medical have achieved breakthroughs in this field. The long-life, multi-battery backup ECMO equipment developed can effectively solve the above pain points, and will promote the further application of ECMO in scenarios such as out-of-hospital rescue and long-distance transportation in my country. Although the gap has been broken, the road ahead is long. From listing to widespread use in hospital, it still takes time for the ECMO flywheel of domestic brands to turn.