Medical device company St. Jude Medical has announced the launch and first implant of the Quadra Assura MP cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) with MultiPoint Pacing feature in the US.
The firm recently received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its MultiPoint Pacing technology, which has been designed for CRT patients who do not respond to other pacing options.
The first implant took place at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford.
Saint Francis Hospital Arrhythmia Consultants of Connecticut electrophysiologist Dr. Neal Lippman said, "We are now able to offer St. Jude Medical’s new MultiPoint Pacing technology for our patients whose heart failure condition is difficult to manage.
"It is important for us to have this option to individualise patient care and help improve response to therapy."
Although improvements are seen in patients with the use of quadripolar CRT technology, a small group of patients do not respond optimally to the therapy.
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By GlobalDataThese non-responders to CRT cannot be identified during the time of implant and therefore effectiveness of the therapy in addressing an individual patient’s heart failure symptoms is unpredictable.
MultiPoint Pacing technology, however, is claimed to offer doctors a new set of tools that enable individualised patient therapy with the goal of optimising their response to CRT.
The cardiac resynchronisation therapy includes the lead (Quartet Quadripolar LV Lead) implanted on the lower left chamber of the heart (ventricle). The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood from the heart out to the rest of the body.
St. Jude Medical claimed that its MultiPoint Pacing technology is designed to deliver electrical pulses to multiple locations on the Quartet lead to make the heart’s lower chambers pump in a more coordinated way, just as the natural contractions of a healthy heart.
St. Jude Medical vice president of global clinical affairs and chief medical officer Dr. Mark D Carlson said: "St. Jude Medical developed and established a new standard of care for CRT with quadripolar pacing.
"We are excited to bring the next-generation MultiPoint Pacing technology to market, giving physicians additional options to improve patient response."
Approximately 23 million people worldwide are afflicted with congestive heart failure and two million new cases are diagnosed worldwide each year.
Image: Quadra Assura MP CRT-D. Photo: courtesy of St. Jude Medical.