New Technologies Designed to Monitor, Treat Atrial Fibrillation

A number of technologies have recently been developed that are designed to monitor and treat abnormal heart rhythms, specifically atrial fibrillation.

The Nuvant MCT System, developed by Corventis, Inc., is designed for ambulatory arrtythmia monitoring. The system “leverages the low profile form factor, advanced algorithms and multi-sensor capabilities of the PiiXTM wearable platform to enable continuous monitoring for a broad set of arrhythmias,” and is also able to detect patient falls that are “common” with atrial fibrillation, according to the news release. The system also allows patients to trigger the collection of an ECG at the onset of symptoms, which is then transmitted to healthcare professionals.

“The ease of use of the NUVANT MCT System should encourage patient compliance for ambulatory arrhythmia monitoring,” said Maninder S. Bedi, M.D., director of cardiac electrophysiology at key centers in Pennsylvania and Ohio, including Washington Hospital, Sharon Regional Health System, Steubenville Hospital, and Wheeling Hospital. “The self contained PiiX reduces the need for lead-wire management and when combined with automatic detection and wireless transmission capabilities, allows my patients to go about their daily routines without disruption.”

The second group of devices, developed by St. Jude Medical, includes a number of products, including catheters, pacemakers, an Internet-based patient care system, and cardiac rhythm management products, which monitor cardiac rhythms and are designed to “reduce patient risk and improve physician control during procedures.” For a complete listing of the new St. Jude products, please click here.

"St. Jude Medical is committed to developing curative solutions which help treat atrial fibrillation and other debilitating cardiac arrhythmias," said Jane J. Song, president of the St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division. "We are designing innovative products which help physicians to achieve safe, reproducible results and improve patient outcomes for their ablation procedures as well as sponsoring research that addresses important clinical questions facing the medical community."