The FDA approved St. Jude Medical’s MultiPoint pacing technology, quadripolar pacing Quartet LV leads and programmer-based Auto VectSelect Quartet Test on Feb. 17.
The pacing technology is included in the company’s Quadra Assura MP cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) defibrillator, its Quadra Allure MP CRT pacemaker and its quadripolar Quartet LV leads.
The quadripolar pacing Quartet LV leads feature additional electrode spacing on two S-curve shaped lead designs, while the automated Auto VectSelect Quartet Test offers testing results for physicians.
With the MultiPoint technology, physicians can deliver pacing pulses to multiple left ventricle locations. They can also use the Quartet LV lead to “program two pulses from a single lead and tailor them to the specific needs of each patient,” according to a company news release.
St. Jude Medical said the pacing technology should be available to U.S. physicians in the first half of 2016.
The company noted that CRT can improve the quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure. Each year, approximately two million new cases of heart failure are diagnosed, according to St. Jude Medical.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.