A blog about what is new (and old) in the world of active implantable medical devices

Category Archives: Cardiac Stimulation (other)

AIMDs for cardiac stimulation besides pacemakers and ICDs

BerlinHeals publishes results on from the C-MIC II trial of microcurrent therapy for heart failure

Posted on by Posted in Berlin Heals, Cardiac Stimulation (other), Heart Failure (CHF), Microcurrent
Berlin Heals C-MIC

C-MIC Device. Image Credit: Berlin Heals

Berlin Heals recently published results of its open-label randomized controlled trial of its C-MIC device.  The study enrolled 70 ambulatory patients (32 C-MIC, 33 control) with non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 25%to 35% and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III–IV.

According to the June 2025 abstract:

“At 6 months, treatment with C-MIC versus control improved LVEF (mean difference: 5.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1–7.1%, p < 0.001). The proportions of patients with improvement in at least one NYHA class (risk difference: 68.9%; 95% CI 50.6–87.2, p < 0.001), an increase of ≥5 points in KCCQ-OSS (risk difference: 60.0%; 95% CI 42.3–77.6, p < 0.001), and an increase of ≥30%in 6MWD (risk difference: 38.3%; 95% CI 14.4–62.2) were substantially higher in the device versus control group(p < 0.002).”

In June, Berlin Heals also reported on the 2-year follow-up of patients from the initial C-MIC pilot study who were alive at 6 month as follows:

“Of the 10 patients enrolled in the initial study, 7 were enrolled in follow-up (mean age 52.4 ± 7.6 years, NYHA Class III and mean LVEF 31.7 ± 3.7%). No device-related adverse events occurred. One non-cardiac, non-device related death was reported at 18 months. Improvement in LVEF of 11.60% [95% confidence interval (CI): 5.64–17.56, P < 0.001] from baseline to 6 months was maintained at 2 years post-C-MIC deactivation, with a sustained increase of 12.56% from baseline (95% CI: 4.67–20.45, P = 0.002). Similarly, the 6 min walk distance improved by 206.35 m at 6 months (95% CI: 161.32–251.39, P < 0.0001) and remained at 191 m above baseline at 2 years (95% CI: 131.83–250.99, P < 0.0001). Improvements in NYHA functional class and SF-36 quality-of-life scores observed at 6 months were also preserved throughout the 2 year follow-up. One patient required C-MIC reactivation.”

Update on Device Based Therapies in Heart Failure published by HFSA

Posted on by Posted in Abbott, Baroreceptor Stimulation, Berlin Heals, Biotronik, Boston Scientific, Cardiac Contractility Modulation, Cardiac Neuromodulation, Cardiac Pacing, Cardiac Stimulation (other), CardioMEMS, Cardioversion/Defibrillation, Circulatory Support, CVRx, Edwards, Endotronix, Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, Medtronic, Microcurrent, Respicardia, Ventricular Assist Device, Viscardia
From: HFSA Scientific Statement: Update on Device Based Therapies in Heart Failure, ESTEP, JERRY D. et al., Journal of Cardiac Failure, 2024

From: HFSA Scientific Statement: Update on Device Based Therapies in Heart Failure, ESTEP, JERRY D. et al., Journal of Cardiac Failure, 2024

The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) published today a new Scientific Statement titled “Update on Device Based Therapies in Heart Failure.”  The statement was published online in the Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF).

This statement discusses how novel device-based therapies, including CCM, BAT, and remote monitoring may bridge current gaps in HF treatment and outcomes.  The statement also proposes a clinical pathway to implement FDA approved device-based therapies that align with current HF management workflow.

 

 

Presenting Keynote “AIMD-based Therapies of Heart Failure” at LASCAS 2024

Posted on by Posted in AIMD Business, Cardiac Contractility Modulation, Cardiac Neuromodulation, Cardiac Pacing, Cardiac Stimulation (other), Cardioversion/Defibrillation, Circulatory Support, David Prutchi's Portfolio, Heart Failure (CHF), Hypertension, My Portfolio, Vagus Nerve Stimulation

LASCAS Keynote

I’ll be presenting the keynote “AIMD-based Therapies of Heart Failure” at the First Workshop on Active Implantable Medical Devices dedicated to understanding the trends and challenges in bioelectronic medicine.

For the complete announcement of the workshop with some great talks by Rikky Muller (UC Berkeley), Pedro Arzuaga (Impulse Dynamics), Marcelo Barú (Biotronik), Federico De Mula (Integer), and Victor Pikov (Medipace) click here:  AIMD Workshop LASCAS 2024 Program.

 

Impulse Dynamics Announced First Implant for Integra CCM-D™ Clinical Trial in May 2023

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Contractility Modulation, Cardiac Pacing, Cardiac Stimulation (other), Cardioversion/Defibrillation, David Prutchi's Portfolio, Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, My Portfolio, Tachycardia
Impulse Dynamics OPTIMIZER Integra CCM-D IPG

Image credit: Impulse Dynamics

Impulse Dynamics, the company where I am the CTO and Executive VP of Product Development, announced on May 18, 2023 the completion of the first implantation for the INTEGRA-D clinical trial, designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of two proven cardiac therapies combined — CCM® and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) — in a single device (CCM-D). The Optimizer® IntegraTM CCM-D System delivers CCM therapy to improve quality of life and reduce heart failure symptoms, and ICD therapy to treat life-threatening arrhythmias that may cause sudden cardiac death. The investigational technology is rechargeable with long battery life, potentially reducing the need for replacement procedures.

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Impulse Dynamics Launched Optimizer Smart Mini in April 2022

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Contractility Modulation, Cardiac Stimulation (other), David Prutchi's Portfolio, Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, My Portfolio
Impulse Dynamics OPTIMIZER Smart Mini IPG by Impulse Dynamics

Image Credit: Impulse Dynamics

Back on April 29, 2022, Impulse Dynamics, the company where I am the CTO and Executive VP of Product Development, announced both FDA and CE Mark approval and the official commercial launch of the Optimizer® Smart Mini System.

According to the press release:

The Optimizer Smart Mini delivers CCM therapy — Impulse Dynamics’ proprietary technology — to the heart. CCM therapy has been designed by Impulse Dynamics to significantly improve heart contraction, allowing more oxygen-rich blood to be pushed out through the body. CCM therapy is indicated to improve 6-minute hall walk, quality of life, and functional status of NYHA Class III heart failure patients who remain symptomatic despite guideline-directed medical therapy, are not indicated for CRT, and have a left ventricular ejection fraction ranging from 25 to 45 percent.

The OPTIMIZER Smart Mini offers increased battery longevity of 20 years (compared to 15 years in the previous generation), advanced HF diagnostic monitoring capabilities (e.g., heart rate, heart rate variability, patient posture and position), and remote patient monitoring features that will be activated in the near future.

Berlin Heals Publishes Results of First-In-Human C-MIC Study

Posted on by Posted in Berlin Heals, Cardiac Stimulation (other), Heart Failure (CHF), Microcurrent
Berlin Heals C-MIC

C-MIC Device. Image Credit: Berlin Heals

Berlin Heals just published the results of its first-in-human study of its C-MIC device, which was conducted in 10 NYHA Class III heart failure patients with LVEF<35%.  The C-MIC is an implantable electroceutical device intended to readjust the disturbed myocardial electrical gradient that, according to Berlin Heals, occurs in heart failure patients.

In the study follow‐ups, a rapid and significant signal of efficacy (P < 0.005) was present with improvements in LVEF, left ventricular end‐diastolic diameter, left ventricular end‐systolic diameter, and distance walked. For eight patients, NYHA classification improved from Class III to Class I (for seven, as early as 14 days post‐operatively); for one, to Class II; and for one, to Class II/III. 36‐Item Short‐Form Health Survey questionnaire scores also improved highly significantly.

Berlin Heals has now initiated a randomized, controlled trial in 100 DCM patients, which will take place in Germany, Austria, Serbia, and Poland.

In addition, the FDA has granted Breakthrough Device designation for the C-MIC system

Berlin Heals website: http://berlinheals.de/

CCM Therapy Delivered by the Optimizer System Wins R&D 100 Award

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Stimulation (other), David Prutchi's Portfolio, Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics

Impulse Dynamics, Inc., a company dedicated to improving the lives of people with heart failure, today announced its innovative CCM® therapy delivered by the Optimizer® system received an award from the R&D 100 Awards, a prestigious program honoring research and development pioneers and their revolutionary ideas in science and technology.

“Winning this award is a tremendous accomplishment for our company as it represents the recognition by fellow scientists and engineers for the enormous effort that has gone into developing this breakthrough technology. The therapy serves a huge unmet need for a very large group of heart failure patients who suffer every day with their symptoms, so it’s great for the technology to receive recognition at this level,” said David Prutchi, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President at Impulse Dynamics. “I am pleased to congratulate all my colleagues that helped evolve what was initially an intriguing electrophysiological discovery into the transformational therapy that it is today.”

Impulse Dynamics’ website: www.impulse-dynamics.com

BackBeat Medical Gains CE-Mark for Moderato Device for Treating Hypertension

Posted on by Posted in BackBeat Medical, Cardiac Pacing, Cardiac Stimulation (other), Hypertension

 

BackBeat® Medical in New Hope, PA, a subsidiary of Orchestra BioMed, Inc. announced that it received the CE Mark for its Moderato® device.   BackBeat’s Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy (CNT) is a patented implantable cardiac stimulation-based treatment for hypertension that immediately and substantially lowers blood pressure. The stimulation algorithms in the Moderato® device are designed such that they simultaneously modulate autonomic nervous system responses that normally drive and maintain blood pressure higher. The Moderato® device also provides standard DDDR pacemaker functions.

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) selected the MODERATO II clinical study for a late-breaking science presentation at TCT 2019 (September 28, 2019) by Karl-Heinz Kuck, MD., Ph.D., Director of Cardiology at the Lans Medicum, Hamburg, Germany and principal investigator for the MODERATO Studies.

The website for BackBeat is at: https://orchestrabiomed.com/technology/backbeat-cnt/

 

Berlin Heals First-In-Man Pilot Trial of its C-MIC Device

Posted on by Posted in Berlin Heals, Cardiac Stimulation (other), Heart Failure (CHF)
Berlin Heals C-MIC implantable device

Image Credit: Berlin Heals

Berlin Heals GmbH – a private Switzerland-based company with an R&D branch in Berlin, Germany – started a FIH-Pilot-Trial of its C-MIC device at AKH Vienna and at the Hospital Center Dedinje in Belgrade.

The C-MIC is an implantable electroceutical device intended to readjust the disturbed myocardial electrical gradient that, according to Berlin Heals, occurs in heart failure patients.

Dr. Peter Göttel from Berlin Heals told me that as of today, 4 patients have been implanted between the two sites.

Berlin Heals website: http://berlinheals.de/

Berlin Heals announcement: http://berlinheals.de/pilot-study-initiated/

Berlin Heals C-MIC

C-MIC Device. Image Credit: Berlin Heals

FDA Approves breakthrough Optimizer® Smart System Delivering CCM™ Therapy for Treatment of Heart Failure

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Contractility Modulation, Cardiac Stimulation (other), David Prutchi's Portfolio, Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim (Medinvest), Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics

I have led the development of devices to deliver CCM™ therapy from the very beginning, so it is with great pleasure and pride that I share with you the exciting news that Impulse Dynamics just received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for our Optimizer® Smart System for heart failure patients!  An official FDA announcement was made through the publication of a press release that you can find here: https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm634103.htm.

Impulse Dynamics’ press release is as follows:

Impulse Dynamics receives FDA approval for breakthrough Optimizer® Smart System delivering CCM™ therapy for treatment of heart failure

Orangeburg, New York, March 21, 2019 – Impulse Dynamics, developer of the implantable Optimizer® Smart System for delivering CCM™ therapy, announced today that it has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for its first-in-class Optimizer Smart System.

Designed to address a significant unmet medical need in heart failure, the Optimizer Smart System received Breakthrough Device designation from the FDA in 2015. It was the first breakthrough device to go before the Circulatory System Devices Panel of the FDA’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee, on Dec. 4, 2018, receiving a 12-0 vote on the benefit-to-risk ratio of the device.

“With the FDA’s approval of the Optimizer System for the delivery of CCM, we finally have available in the US an effective device-based therapy for advanced heart failure patients with mildly to moderately reduced left ventricular ejection fractions who are not eligible for CRT,” said Professor William T. Abraham, MD, Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Cell Biology, and College of Medicine Distinguished Professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “The Optimizer System, along with guideline-directed medical therapies, can improve the lives of many heart failure patients in the US who previously did not have access to this therapy. As such, it represents a real game-changer for these patients.”

The Optimizer Smart System is the first and only CCM device approved by the FDA to improve 6-minute hall walk distance, quality of life and functional status of NYHA Class III heart failure patients who remain symptomatic despite guideline directed medical therapy, who are in normal sinus rhythm, are not indicated for CRT, and have an LVEF ranging from 25% to 45%. Only 30 percent of moderate to severe chronic heart failure patients are candidates for CRT, which historically has left 70 percent of patients with few options to help them manage their disease.

“FDA approval is the culmination of many years of clinical development for this disruptive technology, addressing a significant unmet need in today’s heart failure treatment paradigm,” commented Dr. Daniel Burkhoff, Impulse Dynamics’ Medical Advisor. “We continue to develop the technology with ongoing clinical trials designed to evaluate CCM therapy in additional heart failure populations.”

CCM is a unique electrical pulse delivered during the absolute refractory period, which is just after the heart contracts. In contrast to a pacemaker or defibrillator, CCM works by modulating the strength of the heart muscle contraction rather than the rhythm.

Dr. Simos Kedikoglou, Impulse Dynamics’ CEO, announced that the Company will launch the device in the US later this year.  “We are extremely excited that the Optimizer Smart System with CCM therapy is now available in the United States,” he said. “We look forward to growing our commercial presence in the US and globally.”

About the Optimizer and CCM Therapy
CCM is the brand name for Cardiac Contractility Modulation, the non-excitatory electrical pulses delivered by the implantable Optimizer device during the absolute refractory period of the heart cycle to improve systolic contraction of the heart. The Optimizer System has been implanted in over 3,500 patients and is currently available in Europe, China, Brazil, India, and more than 40 other countries around the world. Impulse Dynamics has completed numerous clinical studies, including several randomized controlled trials. The results have been published in over 80 papers in leading medical journals.

About Impulse Dynamics
Impulse Dynamics is focused on the development of electrical therapies for the treatment of chronic heart failure. As a global leader in cardiac medical innovation, Impulse Dynamics has operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. For more information please visit www.impulse-dynamics.com.

Impulse Dynamics (USA), Inc.
30 Ramland Road South, Suite 204
Orangeburg, NY 10962

First Implant of Impulse Dynamics’ OPTIMIZER Smart IPG

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Stimulation (other), Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, My Portfolio

OPTIMIZER Smart IPG David Prutchi PhD

Last week we performed the first human implant of the new OPTIMIZER Smart IPG intended for the treatment of Chronic Heart failure in patients that are symptomatic despite appropriate medical treatment.

Dr. Markus Reinartz at the Herz-Jesu Hospital in Dernbach, Germany.
The first implant of the Optimizer Smart was performed by Dr. Markus Reinartz (left in picture above) at the Herz-Jesu Hospital in Dernbach, Germany. The device’s new, two-lead configuration enables an easier and faster implantation procedure.

Notes:
• The OPTIMIZER Smart System is not currently available in the US. The OPTIMIZER IVs System is currently an Investigational Device in the US.
• I am the Executive VP of Product Development at Impulse Dynamics. However, the statements and opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
• This blog post is not intended to act as an advertisement for Impulse Dynamics or its products.

European Heart Rhythm Association Issues Very Interesting Report on New Devices for the Treatment of Heart Failure

Posted on by Posted in BioControl, Cardiac Pacing, Cardiac Stimulation (other), CardioMEMS, CVRx, Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, Spinal Cord Stimulation, Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Implantable devices for the treatment of heart failure, David Prutchi, PhD

 

A position paper was published yesterday by the European Heart Rhythm Association reporting on the performance of new devices for the treatment of heart failure (HF). The report has been endorsed by the Heart Failure Association.

The abstract for the paper titled “New devices in heart failure: an European Heart Rhythm Association report” reads:

 Several new devices for the treatment of heart failure (HF) patients have been introduced and are increasingly used in clinical practice or are under clinical evaluation in either observational and/or randomized clinical trials. These devices include cardiac contractility modulation, spinal cord stimulation, carotid sinus nerve stimulation, cervical vagal stimulation, intracardiac atrioventricular nodal vagal stimulation, and implantable hemodynamic monitoring devices. This task force believes that an overview on these technologies is important. Special focus is given to patients with HF New York Heart Association Classes III and IV and narrow QRS complex, who represent the largest group in HF compared with patients with wide QRS complex. An overview on potential device options in addition to optimal medical therapy will be helpful for all physicians treating HF patients.

The report places special focus to patients with HF New York Heart Association (NYHA) Classes III and IV and narrow QRS complex, who represent the largest group in HF compared with patients with wide QRS complex (who are candidates for treatment with cardiac resynchronization therapy – CRT).

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Impulse Dynamics Launches CE-Marked OPTIMIZER IVs System for the Treatment of Heart Failure

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Stimulation (other), Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim (Medinvest), Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, My Portfolio

Impulse Dynamics OPTIMIZER IVs IPG for treatment of heart failure

Impulse Dynamics (yes, the company for which I work) launched its new, CE-marked OPTIMIZER™ IVs implantable device for the treatment of heart failure at the 79th Annual Meeting of the German Cardiac Society (Mannheim, Germany, 3–6 April 2013).

The OPTIMIZER™ IVs Implantable Pulse Generator (IPG) is a programmable telemetric device intended to treat moderate to severe heart failure resulting from left ventricular dysfunction by monitoring intrinsic cardiac electrical activity and delivering Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM) signals during the ventricular absolute refractory period.  These electrical signals are intended to influence myocardial properties in patients, thereby reducing their symptoms and improving quality of life and exercise tolerance.

The OPTIMIZER™ IVs IPG was designed to deliver CCM signals during the ventricular absolute refractory period in synchrony with locally-sensed electrical activity. The microprocessor controlled implantable device comprises intracardiac electrogram sensing circuits, control logic, communications circuitry, and circuitry to generate the CCM signals.  Electrogram signals are detected from and CCM signals are delivered to the heart using standard chronically-implantable bipolar pacing leads.  The implant procedure is similar to implantation procedures for other cardiac rhythm management devices.

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