From the April 2021 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
"This next-generation device communicates wirelessly to the patient's physician and also lets patients access information about the device using an app on a smartphone," said Dr. Mohamad Sinno, a cardiac electrophysiologist with the St. Elizabeth Heart and Vascular Institute, in a statement.
Research shows that better patient engagement and compliance with monitoring reduces hospitalizations, ensures better clinical outcomes and improves survival. The smartphone connectivity is expected to achieve these objectives by improving patient remote monitoring rates and patient engagement in remote monitoring.
The solution pairs with Abbott’s myMerlinPulse, an iOS- and Android-compatible mobile smartphone app that streamlines communication between doctors and patients. With the app, patients can access their data, device performance and transmission history. Physicians can use the app to monitor patients remotely and identify asymptomatic episodes and patient-triggered transmissions. This enables early intervention and reduces clinical burden.
It also is MR compatible and offers more flexibility than traditional bedside monitors, and enables easy transmission of data mutually. Access to device status such as battery longevity is done in a cybersecure mode with enabled two-way authentication.
New evidence that MR scanning possible with non-MR-compatible cardiac implants
Patients with non-MR-compatible devices for cardiac trouble can safely undergo MR exams, according to a group of researchers who published findings in late October.
While prior research has demonstrated the safety of performing MR procedures on patients with non-MR-conditional devices, not all groups have been accounted for. This includes pacemaker-dependent ICD patients, those with abandoned or fractured leads, patients whose hearts won’t function if their defibrillator is removed or stops working, and those undergoing chest and cardiac MR exams.
"The findings of this study should decrease the level of concern regarding performing MRs in patients with implanted cardiac devices," study lead author Dr. Sanjaya Gupta, of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, told HCB News. "Essentially, this study shows that virtually all patients with an implanted cardiac electronic device can undergo MR scans safely, regardless if their device is labeled as MR-conditional by the FDA. As we collectively gain more experience with protocols like the one featured in our study, more and more hospitals will offer MR scans to their patients with non-MR-conditional devices."
