Professor Zhang Wei and Weiqiang Medical Win First Prize at the 2024 International Innovation Competition in Vascular and Endovascular Therapy with ZIPPER™ Aortic Arch Stent-Graft System

Recently, Zhang Wei, a specially appointed researcher at the Capital Medical Science Innovation Center and a chair professor at Capital Medical University, collaborated with Wei Qiang Medical to developZIPPER™ Integrated Aortic Arch Stent Graft System for Three-Branch Reconstruction on the Arch, surpassing innovative products submitted by renowned medical centers around the world such as Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard University and Cleveland Clinic, and winning theFirst Place in the 2024 International Vascular and Endovascular Treatment Innovation Competition, marking the high recognition of the ZIPPER™ stent by the expert review panel in the international vascular surgery field.

The development of the ZIPPER™ Aortic Arch Stent Graft System aims to design a product with high safety performance, easy operation, and the ability to adapt to various aortic arch vascular lesions and different anatomical structures. Its main design features include an integrated main stent with one external branch and two internal branches, where the external branch can facilitate the transition between internal and external branches. The stent design accommodates most patients' anatomical structures and complex arch types; it enables complete reconstruction of the three branches above the aortic arch via the femoral artery, avoiding carotid artery puncture or incision.

The teams of Professor Wei Guo Fu from Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Professor Hong Lin Dong from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, and Professor Jia Hu from West China Hospital of Sichuan University actively participated in the clinical trials of the ZIPPER™ stent, making positive contributions to the improvement and refinement of this product.

Director of the Independent Research Laboratory for Cardiovascular Diseases at the Capital Medical Science Innovation Center, Distinguished Research Fellow, Chair Professor at Capital Medical University, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University, former Vice President of the International Society for Vascular Surgery (ISVS). Co-Editor-in-Chief of the American Annals of Vascular Surgery, Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Vascular Surgery: Innovations, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Vascular Surgery, and Distinguished Member of the American Vascular Surgery Association.

Zhang Wei's laboratory mainly engages in basic research on the etiology, pathogenesis, and pathophysiological evolution of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the development and translation of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Professor Zhang Wei was the first to use a novel negative pressure system for the prevention and treatment of wound complications in vascular surgery; developed a new technique using a physician-modified adjustable stent system to treat complex abdominal aortic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms; invented the ZIPPER stent system for complete transfemoral minimally invasive endovascular repair of aortic arch lesions; and invented a novel percutaneous stent placement system for the minimally invasive endovascular treatment of carotid artery stenosis.