It could be a boon for people with irregular heart rhythms.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a device from medical equipment giant Medtronic MDT -4.05% that could help patients with irregular heart rhythms by harnessing the power of algorithms.
The Claria MRI Quad Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillator SureScan can handle a number of functions, including being able to be used inside MRIs, according to Medtronic. But what really sets it apart from standard defibrillators is the built-in software that can sense how effective the pulses sent to the heart actually are in individuals and adjust the rate at which they’re delivered.
Subscribe to Brainstorm Health Daily, our brand new newsletter about health innovations.
“Until now, [devices used to resynchronize heart rhythms] have shown only whether a pacing pulse was sent, but we haven’t been able to determine if that stimulation actually improves the heart’s pumping ability,” said Dr. Suneet Mittal, director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory at the Arrhythmia Institute of the Valley Health System in New Jersey and an investigator involved in Medtronic trials, in a statement.
That’s promising for patients who suffer from the abnormal heart rhythm condition atrial fibrillation. The firm did not say exactly when the product will be released on the market.
Medtronic recently received the first-ever FDA approval for an artificial pancreas that seeks to largely automate the process for patients with type 1 diabetes of taking insulin.
Medtronic looking to take over the science/maths/first aid course world. Nice work,hopefully some of these new and improved pieces of equipment come in to play in the first aid world soon. If only we could get defibrillators for individual use in our cars or even attached to our phones. One day this will happen but in the mean time make sure you get trained as best as you can in the use of defibrillators and other first aid techniques by attending a first aid course in Canberra with Canberra First Aid. We run first aid courses every week so you won’t have any problems finding a course to book in to.