"World's Smallest Heart Pump" Arrives in Beijing: First Clinically Urgent Medical Device Cleared Through Customs

On March 15, the reporter learned from Beijing Customs that the Johnson & Johnson Impella interventional left ventricular assist pump, used for treating critically ill heart disease, recently cleared customs at Tianzhu Customs. Known as the "world's smallest heart pump," this medical device is also the first clinically urgently needed medical device approved in the Beijing area, significantly improving the success rate of rescuing critically ill heart disease patients and their survival probability.

Warmth fills the early spring air in Beijing, and the bonded warehouse of Sinopharm Cardinal (Beijing) Medical Co., Ltd. at Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Area is bustling with activity. Customs officers from the Tianzhu Customs Office, under Beijing Customs, are conducting an inspection of a batch of Impella percutaneous left ventricular assist devices that have applied for import out of the zone. This marks the first clinically urgent medical device approved in the Beijing area, offering hope of extended life for critically ill heart disease patients.

As the customs officer signed the document on the Customs Single Window Inspection System with the note "inspection normal," the batch of medical devices successfully cleared customs. "This is the most important batch of imported medical devices for our company this year!" Gao Chao, Deputy General Manager of Sinopharm Cardinal Health Beijing Company, was very excited. He introduced that the Johnson & Johnson Impella interventional left ventricular assist pump is currently the world's only FDA-approved interventional ventricular assist device, known as the "world's smallest heart pump." It is mainly used to treat patients with severe coronary artery disease who require high-risk PCI surgery or are in cardiogenic shock.

Tianzhu Customs conducts warehousing inspection on imported medical device Impella interventional left ventricular assist pump.

"We have been worried about the customs clearance speed affecting patients' usage. Unexpectedly, the inspection and release were completed on the same day. Such speed has made us more confident!" Gao Chao said.

Reporters learned that the time limit for this batch of goods from import declaration to departure from the zone was compressed to within 30 minutes. "Efficient customs clearance cannot be achieved without 'precise solutions'," said Ma Ning from the First Inspection Section of Tianzhu Customs. After receiving the enterprise’s application, they immediately coordinated, researched, and responded, solving a series of issues such as the compliance of Chinese labels and instructions for urgently needed clinical medical devices. Meanwhile, Tianzhu Customs also assigned dedicated personnel to optimize operations in account book filing, manual document review, inspection and release, and checkpoint management, improving efficiency across these processes.

According to the introduction, this batch of medical devices has been put into use at Beijing Fuwai and Anzhen hospitals and is officially being used for clinical treatment. "Currently, there is already a large amount of public medical and clinical evidence proving that the Impella interventional left ventricular assist pump is a relatively safe and effective short-term auxiliary device. This equipment is expected to be applied in clinical practice very soon, bringing new treatment options for critically ill heart failure patients," said Wang Xianqiang, Director of the Adult Cardiac Surgery Center at Fuwai Hospital and Chief Physician.

Tianzhu Customs conducts on-site supervision of the imported medical device Impella interventional left ventricular assist pump.

Yin Haifeng, Deputy Commissioner of Tianzhu Customs, said that the successful import of the Impella interventional left ventricular assist pump will further enrich the categories of medical devices urgently needed in clinical settings in Beijing. This is not only a pioneering trial by Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Area in the field of importing urgently needed clinical medical devices, but also another effective practical application of Tianzhu Customs' "Bonded+" measures.

Data shows that from January to February 2026, the Tianzhu Customs supervised the import of medical devices worth 1.928 billion yuan, increasing by 13.05% year-on-year.

Source: Beijing Daily Client