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

Category Archives: Therapies

AIMDs classified according to general type of therapy

Medtronic SureScan Neurostimulators Cleared by FDA for Full-Body MRI

Posted on by Posted in Medtronic, MRI-safe, Pain, Spinal Cord Stimulation

Medtronic Restore Sensor MRI www.implantable-device.comFollowing Medtronic’s announcement in February of this year that it had introduced in Europe the first and only implantable neurostimulation systems indicated for use in the treatment of chronic back and/or leg pain that are designed for full-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans under specific conditions, the Company announced today that FDA has approved the system for use in the US.  Medtronic SureScan neurostimulation systems include enhancements to existing devices as well as specially designed leads to reduce or eliminate the hazards produced by the MRI environment. The devices also include a proprietary SureScan programming feature, which sets the device into an appropriate mode for the MRI environment.

The press release states:

“With the first U.S. implants of its new RestoreSensor® SureScan® MRI neurostimulation systems, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) is introducing the first and only implantable neurostimulation (also known as spinal cord stimulation, or SCS) systems for use in the treatment of chronic, intractable back and/or limb pain that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for conditionally safe* full-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) under specific conditions.

Continue reading→

Sydney-based Saluda Medical Developing Closed-Loop SCS System for Pain

Posted on by Posted in Pain, Saluda Medical, Spinal Cord Stimulation

Saluda_MedicalStart-up company Saluda Medical has been awarded $5M by Australia’s New South Wales Government to support the development of a closed-loop spinal cord stimulation system for the treatment of pain.

The difference between other SCS systems and Saluda Medical’s is that the latter – the Implanted Neural Sensing & Stimulation product (INS2) – is that it both stimulates and senses nerve responses.

Saluda was spun out of NICTA – Australia’s largest publicly-funded information and communications technology research organization – earlier this year after successfully raising an initial $5M in private investment.  A new $5M grant was provided to Saluda from the inaugural round of the NSW Government’s Medical Devices Fund (MDF), a competitive technology development and commercialization program funded by the NSW Government through the NSW Ministry of Health.

 An excellent technical/business presentation video on the INS2 is available at: http://www.onemedplace.com/database/list/cid/14611/

Boston Scientific Launches OPTIMISE Trial of Precision™ Neurostimulator for Treatment of Chronic Migraine

Posted on by Posted in Boston Scientific, Migraine, Occipital Nerve Stimulation

Precision Spectra Spinal Cord Stimulator by Boston Scientific www.implantable-device.com David Prutchi, Ph.D.Boston Scientific announced that it has launched a clinical trial to determine whether occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) using the Precision™ System can safely and effectively treat chronic migraine when used in conjunction with anti-migraine medications.   According to the press release:

Continue reading→

Algostim – Greatbatch’s Own Spinal Cord Stimulation System

Posted on by Posted in Greatbatch, Greatbatch Medical (Power), Pain, Spinal Cord Stimulation

 

Greatbatch Algostim System David Prutchi PhD www.implantable-device.comGreatbatch Medical, which moved its headquarters to the Dallas, TX area last year, announced that it has set a target of at least 5%/yr organic growth.  To accomplish this growth, the Company recently announced consolidating operations of its various divisions in order to create efficiency.

In addition however, Greatbatch is diversifying from being strictly a developer of implantable-grade components into a firm capable of developing complete medical devices.  Greatbatch’s CEO Thomas Hook announced in March 2013 that Greatbatch is internally developing its own spinal cord stimulation system.  The device, called Algostim, is nearing completion of development and will be moving into the commercialization phase.  The company is looking for a partner to take the Algostim device into the $1.4 billion spinal cord stimulation market, which has been growing at more than 10%/yr.

Click here for an extract describing Algostim from Greatbatch’s investor day of March 2013.

 

Enopace Receives Additional $5M Investment for Development of Stimulator for Treatment of Heart Failure

Posted on by Posted in Aortic Stimulation, Enopace Biomedical, Heart Failure (CHF), Sorin, Yossi Gross (Rainbow Medical)
Enopace's implantable device

From Patent Application Publication: US 2011/0137370 A1

Sorin recently announced a $5 million investment in Israeli startup Enopace Biomedical, which is developing an endovascular neurostimulation system for heart failure.  Back in October 2011 Sorin invested $7 million to finance the initial clinical studies of Enopace’s technology as well as ongoing product development.

Very scant details are available besides that it is developing a neuromodulation system to treat patients with congestive heart failure. According to the company, its technology consists of a minimally invasive, implantable neurostimulation device that increases cardiac efficiency by reducing left ventricular workload.

From Enopace’s patent applications, it seems that Enopace’s device consists of a stimulation unit that is placed within the aorta close to the heart, and which is driven wirelessly from a coil that is placed within a vein closeby to the artery. The transmitting coil is in turn driven from an implanted control unit that is implanted subcutaneously.

Israeli business news website “Globes” interviewed Enopace’s CEO Amir Dagan, and reported in February 2013:

Continue reading→

Neuromodulation Startup NeuroTronik Raises $13.1M for Development of System for Treating Acute Heart Failure Syndrome

Posted on by Posted in Heart Failure (CHF), Neural Stimulation, NeuroTronik

NeuroTronik Neuromodulation www.implantable-device.comNeuroTronik, a recent spin-off from Synecor, a Chapel Hill business accelerator, announced that it has raised $13.1M for the development of a neuromodulation system intended for the treatment of acute heart failure syndrome.

Douglas Reed, a partner in the VC group backing NeuroTronik said that the device aims to shorten hospital stays and reduce the need of patients to return to the hospital a few weeks later.  According to Reed:

“It’s a way of stimulating the heart to increase the pumping effectiveness, the effectiveness of the contractions, so it improves cardiac function while the device is in place.”

 

EnteroMedics Submits PMA of the Maestro VBLOC System for Treatment of Obesity

Posted on by Posted in Diabetes, EnteroMedics, Gastric Stimulation, Obesity

EnteroMedics  reported that it has submitted its pre-market approval application for FDA review of its Maestro Rechargeable System’s VBLOC vagal blocking therapy as a treatment for obesity

This is an important step for an implantable device company that faced very tough times in 2009 after its US clinical trial failed to meet a critical effectiveness goal. EnteroMedics conducted a pivotal trial, and believes that the data are positive, leading it to submit the PMA application.

According to the press release, EnteroMedics president & CEO Mark Knudson said that “the Maestro System is a unique, neuroscience-based approach to the treatment of this epidemic disease, one which offers the potential to fill a significant gap in the obesity treatment spectrum. In the hundreds of patients treated to date, in addition to showing clinically meaningful weight loss, VBLOC Therapy has demonstrated an excellent benefit-to-risk profile; a criterion identified by the Agency as central to the review and approvability of new obesity treatment devices.”

 

NeuroPace Raises $18M of Planned $50M

Posted on by Posted in AIMD Business, Brain Stimulation, Dr. David R. Fischell, Dr. Robert Fischell, Epilepsy, NeuroPace

Image Credit: NeuroPace

NeuroPace is a privately-held company in Mountain View, CA. Their RNS® implantable stimulator, along with depth leads and cortical strip leads are designed for the treatment of medically refractory partial epilepsy.

Unlike Cyberonics’ VNS IPGs, the RNS neurostimulator is designed to detect abnormal electrical activity in the brain and respond by delivering electrical stimulation to normalize brain activity before the patient experiences seizure symptoms. The neurostimulator is implanted in the cranium and connected to one or two leads that are implanted near the patient’s seizure focus.

NeuroPace recently disclosed that it has raised about $18 million of a planned $50 million in new funding. NeuroPace has raised about $180 million since it was founded in 1997.

 

 

TYRX receives FDA Approval for Fully Resorbable AIGISRx R Antibacterial IPG Envelope

Posted on by Posted in Cardiac Pacing, Cardioversion/Defibrillation, Drug Delivery, Infection, TYRX Inc

Tyrx IPG antimicrobial pouch David Prytchi www.implantable-device.com

AIGISRx® is an Antibacterial Envelope that is made from knitted polypropylene mesh substrate, coated with a polyarylate bioresorbable polymer containing two antimicrobial antibiotics, minocycline and rifampin. AIGISRx is a dual component (resorbable and non-resorbable), sterile prosthesis designed to reduce infection and to stabilize the implantable pacemaker or defibrillator when implanted in the body.

Continue reading→

Aleva Neurotherapeutic’s Ultra-Flexible Electrode Arrays for DBS

Posted on by Posted in Aleva Neurotherapeutics, Brain Stimulation, Electrodes, Parkinson's Disease
Aleva DBS electrode array www.implantable-device.com David Prutchi PhD

Miniature, ultra-flexible electrode (credit: EPFL)

Aleva Neurotherapeutics is a spinoff of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Microsystems Laboratory.   Aleva is developing unique microfabricated devices to more specifically target deep-brain stimulation.

kurtzweilai.net recently published an interesting blog about the technology.  From the post:

“Miniature, ultra-flexible electrodes could be the answer to more successful treatment for Parkinson’s diseases, according to Professor Philippe Renaud of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.

He has developed soft arrays of miniature electrodes in his Microsystems Laboratory that open new possibilities for more accurate and local deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Continue reading→

Mainstay Medical’s Reactiv8 to Treat LBP Caused by Arthrogenic Muscle Inhibition

Posted on by Posted in Mainstay Medical, Muscular Stimulation, Pain, Spinal Cord Stimulation

logo_mainstay1[1]

Mainstay Medical was founded in 2008 by entrepreneur Dr. Danny Sachs. The company’s ReActiv8 neurostimulator is intended to treat chronic low back pain caused by arthrogenic muscle inhibition.  This is a neuroprotective condition in which the brain reflexively attempts to limit motor stimulation and movement in muscles surrounding a joint in response to damage or injury to the joint. In patients with this type of back pain, an initial injury triggers this reflexive inhibition, and the brain tries to limit painful movement by altering nerve transmissions to the deep stabilizing muscles of the spine, causing a loss of motor control, an unstable spine, and greater susceptibility to reinjury.

Continue reading→

Medtronic Issues Urgent Class-I Recall Notifications for the SynchroMed® Implantable Infusion System

Posted on by Posted in Drug Delivery, Medtronic, Pain

SynchroMed-II[1]

Medtronic’s press release:

MINNEAPOLIS – June 26, 2013 – In June 2013, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) initiated four medical device notifications to customers worldwide about the SynchroMed® Implantable Infusion System. These notifications provide clinicians with information to help identify and manage issues that impact the safe and reliable delivery of therapy using the SynchroMed Implantable Infusion System.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified three of these notifications as Class I recalls.The fourth notification is an update to a 2011 action related to pump refill which was previously classified by the FDA as a Class I recall.

Patients are encouraged to maintain regular follow-up appointments with their physicians; however, if they experience a change or return of symptoms or hear a device alarm, they should contact their physician immediately. No action is required of physicians beyond the recommendations provided in the notifications.

Medtronic’s intrathecal drug delivery systems are used to treat chronic, intractable pain and severe spasticity of cerebral or spinal origin. These notifications do not involve Medtronic external insulin pumps for diabetes.

Specifically, the Neuromodulation business of Medtronic has initiated the following field corrective actions:

Continue reading→

St Jude Receives CE Mark for Quadra Assura MP™ Multipoint CRT-D

Posted on by Posted in Bradycardia, Cardiac Pacing, Cardioversion/Defibrillation, Heart Failure (CHF), St. Jude Medical, Tachycardia

SJM_QuadraAssuraMPSt. Jude Medical today announced CE Mark approval of its next-generation quadripolar device, the Quadra Assura MP™ cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D). The device features MultiPoint™ Pacing (MPP) technology that enables physicians to pace multiple locations on the left side of the heart. This gives the clinician more choices to best optimize cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) pacing to meet individual patient needs.

According to the press release:

The Quadra Assura MP CRT-D is designed to work with the Quartet™ Lead, which has four electrodes to offer maximum flexibility for different pacing configurations. The new MPP capability allows physicians to program simultaneous or sequential delivery of two left ventricular (LV) pulses per pacing cycle, rather than the standard single pacing pulse. The capability to deliver two LV pulses per cycle allows physicians to tailor CRT pacing for each patient, potentially leading to more effective outcomes compared to single site pacing, which may be particularly beneficial in patients not responding to traditional bi-ventricular pacing therapy.

Continue reading→

Sorin Launches Reply 200 Pacemakers with Sleep Apnea Monitoring

Posted on by Posted in Bradycardia, Cardiac Pacing, Sleep Apnea, Sorin

Sorin Reply 200 with apnea monitor David Prutchi PhD www.implantable-device.comSorin announced today CE mark approval and the European commercial launch of the REPLY ™ 200 family of pacemakers featuring Sleep Apnea Monitoring (SAM).  According to the press release:

Sleep apnea is highly prevalent and vastly undiagnosed in pacemaker patients. It increases the mortality risk and the risk of common cardiovascular co-morbidities such as hypertension, atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF). Moreover, sleep apnea complicates the management of common cardiovascular co-morbidities.

The REPLY 200 SR and DR pacemakers automatically screen patients for the risk of severe sleep apnea using a highly reliable sensor that measures ventilation. The Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI), calculated and reported by the pacemaker, has been validated against polysomnography, the gold standard method used to diagnose sleep apnea.

Continue reading→