Photo Gallery of the Abiomed Impella Production Line

Abiomed Impella pump catheters in the production line are placed in stands as they are completed for inspection.
Abiomed Impella pump catheters in the production line are placed in stands as they are completed for inspection.
Technicians use microscopes to solder very tiny components of the impeller blade motor, which is housed inside the catheter. Above this workstation is an overhead screen showing the view from the microscope of the tiny motor connections.
Soldering the impeller motor connections under a microscope.
Soldering the impeller motor connections under a microscope.
Soldering the impeller motor connections under a microscope.
Soldering the impeller motor connections under a microscope.
Impella catheter assembly in the main cleanroom at Abiomed.
Abiomed's corporate headquarters and factory located in Danvers, Mass.
Pulling sterilized Impella catheters out of a sterilizer in the main cleanroom at Abiomed.
Sterilizers in the main cleanroom at Abiomed.
Laser welding machine to assemble tiny metal components of the Impella catheters.
Laser welding machine to assemble tiny metal components of the Impella catheters.
Fiberoptic cable on the factory floor used in the newer Impella pumps to speed the hemodynamic signals from the device to the console.
Entrance into Abiomed's Impella Training Center.
An Impella simulator, which is composed of a beating heart, aorta and femoral vessels to enable insertion and delivery of a percutaneous pump catheter. The operator can change the pump settings on the Impella control console and see the impact hemodynamically, and how the device is working into the transparent model of the anatomy.
An Impella simulator, which is composed of a beating heart, aorta and femoral vessels to enable insertion and delivery of a percutaneous pump catheter. The operator can change the pump settings on the Impella control console and see the impact hemodynamically, and how the device is working into the transparent model of the anatomy.
The femoral vascular access point of an Impella simulator.
A closeup view of the impeller and motor components that are inside an Impella percutaneous heart pump catheter.
A display board showing all the components that go into the construction of an Impella percutaneous heart pump catheter.
A display board showing all the components that go into the construction of an Impella percutaneous heart pump catheter.
A greatlly enlarged model showing a cutaway of the Impella percutaneous heart pump catheter.
A greatlly enlarged model showing a cutaway of the Impella percutaneous heart pump catheter.
A side-by-side comparison, left to right, of the Impella RP right ventricular support device, Impella 5.5, and the Impella CP.
A side-by-side comparison of the intake and outflow tracks of the Impella CP (top) and the Impella 5.5 hemodynamic support devices.
A close-up of the Impella 5.5 hemodynamic support device. It can flow 5.5 liters of blood per minute and is the largest Impella support catheter available.
The Impella RP catheter is curved to fit the anatomy of the right side of the heart. It can be used with a left-side Impella device for temporary bi-venticular support.
The Abiomed Impella control console.
There are several reminders around the Abiomed headquarters that the products employees make there are designed to help save lives. These are among many posters of actual patients who received Impella devices, which helped their survival.
This is the Impella Connect control room at Abiomed's headquarters in Danvers, Mass. It allows technicians to remotely connect with operating patient consoles at hospitals around the country to help immediately troubleshoot technical issues.

DAIC Editor Dave Fornell recently took a tour of the Abiomed Impella production line at its headquarters in Danvers, Mass., just outside of Boston. Below is a photo essay with a look at the Abiomed production and training facilities.

The Impella series of percutaneous hemodynamic support pumps are built in a large, cleanroom factory.

Workers undergo about three months of training building Impella catheters in a practice cleanroom. During that time, they practice building hundreds of non-clinical grade catheters. They learn soldering microcircuitry under microscopes, how to use a laser welding machine, and how to assemble and test all the components of the catheters. When they have achieved proficiency in both clean room protocol and device assembly, they move on to building clinical grade Impella devices in the main cleanroom.

The factory floor has a glass wall on one side so visitors can watch the devices being built, tested, sterilized and packaged.

The large Abiomed HQ office houses about 600 employees. It has a training center with four classrooms, including two with patient simulators and augmented reality simulators. There is a research and development area with its own labs and testing area. Abiomed also has a monitoring center for Impella Connect systems, where company technicians can remotely access Impella consoles in use to troubleshoot technical issues.

The Impella series includes the Impella 5.5, Impella CP, Impella RP, and the Impella 2.5.

VIDEO: Demonstration of the Impella Percutaneous Hemodynamic Support Device