NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe will present Dr. Michael
DeBakey, the man known as the father of modern cardiovascular
surgery, with the agency’s Commercial Invention of the Year
award during a ceremony at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St., SW,
Washington, at 10 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 25, in room 3P44.
Dr. DeBakey is being honored for his work on an innovative
heart pump based on technology found in the engines that
power space shuttles into orbit. The small ventricular-assist
device, known as the VAD, is designed to be a bridge for
heart patients who often are forced to wait months, if not
years, for a donor organ. The VAD may also be used as a
permanent way to help strengthen the beat of a weakened
heart.
Due to limited seating news media wishing to attend should
call the NASA newsroom at 202/358-1600.
