Share:
Researcher New pacemaker makes surgery unnecessary
A wireless pacemaker has proven itself in a new study. The tiny device is pushed through a vein to the heart. An operation becomes superfluous. Doctors still express doubts about the new technology.
New technology could save many operations
In the field of cardiac medicine, enormous progress has been made in recent years. Just a few months ago, the world's smallest pacemaker was successfully implanted at the University Hospital Düsseldorf for the first time in Germany. Years ago, scientists from the US reported experiments with pacemakers without a battery, which could get current from organs. In the UK, scientists have now presented positive results with a whole new technology. This could save many patients an operation in the future.
A milestone in medicine: The first pacemaker without a major surgery. Device is pushed via vein to the heart
As reported by the news agency AP, researchers in London have presented their positive results with a wireless pacemaker. The device, which is the size of an ink cartridge, could in the future make many operations obsolete. Conventional pacemakers consist of a pulse generator and stimulation electrodes and are implanted into the patient by means of a surgical procedure. In contrast, the new artificial clock can be inserted minimally invasively via the inguinal vein and advanced directly into the heart.
Doctors need to familiarize themselves with new technology
The small tube measures only one-tenth the size of a conventional pacemaker. This was announced by the manufacturer "St. Jude Medical, "an international medical device company, on the occasion of the publication of the study in the journal" New England Journal of Medicine ". "This is a milestone in pacemaker development," said medical professor Christopher Granger of the American Heart Association, an organization not involved in the study. He nevertheless warned not to rush. To avoid possible complications, the doctors would first have to familiarize themselves with the new technology. He would not advise patients to be among the first to implant the electrodeless device unless there was a compelling reason.
Trial canceled because of complications
As the news agency reports, caution is probably also due to the fact that a previous trial to test the new system had to be stopped twice because of a worryingly high number of complications. Thus, in one case, the device could not be placed as intended in the right ventricle, but stuck in the pulmonary artery. For the latest study, over 500 patients in Australia, Canada and the US have used a mini-pacemaker. The doctors diagnosed after six months in seven percent of subjects adverse reactions, including heart perforation. By comparison, conventional pacemakers have complications in about ten percent of cases.
Suitable for about one third of patients
In Europe, the electrodeless pacemaker - as well as a similar system of the company "Medtronic" - already approved. In the US, the study, which has just been published, is expected to be submitted to the FDA, which decides on approval. Healthcare experts believe the new technology will be suitable for around 30 percent of patients who need a pacemaker. The President of the Spanish Cardiology Society, José Ramon, said that the mini-pacemaker at his hospital only had about a dozen patients implanted last year, and nearly 500 have received a traditional pacemaker. This is probably also because the new technology lacks functions that are standard in the proven systems. "You can not monitor patients by telemonitoring," says Jagmeet Singh of the American College of Cardiology. "That means they have to go to the hospital for examination." Nevertheless, the study's lead investigator, Vivek Reddy, is convinced that the FDA approves of the new "St. Jude Medical "in the US will grant approval. The head of electrophysiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York said the demand was there: "It's up to the doctors to talk to their patients about it, but the patients will want the smaller pacemaker when they hear about it."
(Ad)