Banner Health has performed more than 50 SynCardia Total Artificial Heart implants, establishing itself as a leading center in total artificial heart therapy
TUCSON, Ariz., April 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Picard Medical, Inc. (NYSE American: PMI) (the “Company” or “Picard Medical”), parent company of SynCardia Systems LLC, maker of the world’s first total artificial heart approved by both the U.S. FDA and Health Canada, today recognized Banner Health’s support in bridge-to-transplant cases, following its recent announcement highlighting the health system’s experience and global leadership in total artificial heart therapy. Specifically, Banner Health, one of the nation’s largest fully integrated nonprofit health systems, reported that its team has performed more than 50 implants of the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart (“STAH”), representing one of the busiest programs globally.
Banner Health’s program is led by Francisco Arabia, M.D., and is part of its broader advanced heart failure and transplant services. According to Banner Health, its Advanced Heart Failure Program has contributed to the development of clinical practices across patient selection, surgical technique, and post-implant management.
Patrick NJ Schnegelsberg, Chief Executive Officer of Picard Medical, commented, “Banner Health’s experience with more than 50 SynCardia Total Artificial Heart implants reflects a significant level of clinical expertise in the management of patients with advanced biventricular heart failure. Their program, which receives referrals from medical centers worldwide, has contributed to the growing body of clinical experience supporting the use of total artificial heart therapy in bridge-to-transplant patients.”
“Reaching this procedure milestone represents our unwavering commitment to advancing cardiac care and improving outcomes for patients with end-stage heart failure,” said Francisco Arabia, MD, physician executive of the Banner – University Medicine Advanced Heart Failure Program and Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. “This achievement reflects our team’s dedication and the trust that medical centers worldwide place in our expertise. Today we’re bridging patients to transplant, but together with our innovative partners, we’re closing the gap between today’s challenges and tomorrow’s solutions in cardiac care.”
Total artificial heart therapy is indicated as a bridge to transplant for patients with irreversible biventricular heart failure who are not candidates for isolated left ventricular assist device support. By replacing both ventricles and all four native heart valves, the STAH is designed to restore circulation and maintain hemodynamic stability while patients await donor heart availability.
More than 6 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure, and the demand for donor hearts continues to exceed supply.
To date, more than 2,100 STAH implants have been performed worldwide in patients with advanced biventricular heart failure, with the longest reported duration of support exceeding eight years.
Picard Medical continues to support transplant centers in the United States and internationally in the use of the STAH. The Company is also advancing development of the Emperor Total Artificial Heart, a fully implantable, next-generation device designed to expand access to long-term mechanical circulatory support without the need for external pneumatic drivers.
About Banner Health
Banner Health’s mission is to make health care easier, so life can be better. As one of the nation’s largest fully integrated nonprofit health systems, Banner Health is pioneering a sustainable care model that prioritizes prevention, manages chronic disease, and reduces health spending – succeeding when patients stay healthy, not when they get sick. Banner Health operates 33 hospitals and more than 400 sites across six states, delivering seamless care from primary to quaternary medicine, including health insurance, physician networks, world-renowned specialty services, and behavioral health. Accountable to the communities it serves, Banner Health reinvests into advancing care, research, and facilities, providing more than $1 billion each year in community benefit. Through its partnership with the University of Arizona, Banner Health drives clinical discoveries across more than 800 trials and trains more than 1,300 residents and fellows annually. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health serves Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. Banner Health hospitals are consistently ranked among Arizona’s top-performing by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com/about.
About Picard Medical and SynCardia
Picard Medical, Inc. is the parent company of SynCardia Systems, LLC (“SynCardia”), the Tucson, Arizona–based leader with the only commercially available total artificial heart technology for patients with end-stage heart failure. SynCardia develops, manufactures, and commercializes the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart (“STAH”), an implantable system that assumes the full functions of a failing or failed human heart. It is the first artificial heart approved by both the FDA and Health Canada, and it remains the only commercially available artificial heart in the United States and Canada. With more than 2,100 implants performed at hospitals across 27 countries, the STAH is the most widely used and extensively studied artificial heart in the world. For additional information about Picard Medical, please visit www.picardmedical.com or review the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “continue” and “advance” and similar expressions, and various or negatives of these words. These statements include, but are not limited to, supporting clinical partners and advancing development of our next generation fully implantable total artificial heart platform. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based. Additional information about the Company, including risk factors that may affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations, is contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available free of charge on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov and on the Company’s investor relations website at https://picardmedical.com/.
Contact:
Investors
Eric Ribner
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors LLC
[email protected]
Picard Medical, Inc./SynCardia Systems, LLC
[email protected]
General/Media
Brittany Lanza
[email protected]
