New Pacemaker Designed for Full-Body MRI Scanning

Innovative pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) technology has been combined with for patients who need to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Biotronik (Berlin, Germany), a manufacturer of cardiovascular technology, presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, held in September 2013 in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), an extension of its ProMRI technology.

This new technology allows ICD and heart failure patients (CRT-D and CRT-P) to take advantage of potentially life-saving MRI scanning. The new extension of ProMRI technology means that even full-body scans are now available for pacemaker patients, placing Biotronik’s implants at the forefront of cardiac device innovation.

With Biotronik’s Lumax 7, Ilesto, and Iforia ICDs/CRT-Ds, as well as the Evia HF-T, patients can undergo more than 88% of all required MRI scans. Furthermore, patients implanted with the Evia single and dual-chamber devices can now undergo 100% of all required scans, including liver and heart scans. Biotronik’s received the CE marking for its full-body scan ProMRI technology with backwards compatibility in mid-August 2013.

Each of Biotronik’s cardiac devices is also equipped with Biotronik’s Home Monitoring system, which rapidly detects deterioration in patients’ clinical status and automatically transmits data on a daily basis. This enables physicians to adapt patient therapy at a very early stage.

Findings from the Biotronik In-Time Study, which evaluated the influence of implant-based Biotronik Home Monitoring on the clinical management of heart failure patients, were also presented at the ESC Congress 2013 by Prof. Gerhard Hindricks, MD, from the Heart Center, University Leipzig (Germany), and in addition discussed with Prof. Angelo Auricchio, past president of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).

“Throughout our 50-year history, our goal has been to grant as many patients as possible access to leading-edge technology, ensuring the best therapies available,” explained Christoph Böhmer, president international at Biotronik. “Our technologies, like ProMRI enabling full-body scans and Biotronik Home Monitoring, have proven our reliability, making a real difference in patients’ lives.”


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