Biotronik Launches Ilivia ICD in Japan

Patients in Japan are the world’s first to benefit from Biotronik SE & Co. KG’s Ilivia implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which not only feature the company’s ProMRI technology, but also its exclusive, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) AutoDetect function for enhanced patient safety. Japan is the world’s largest MRI market with more MRI scanners per capita than any other country: approximately 47 registered machines per one million people.¹

Biotronik already offers the world’s largest choice of ProMRI cardiac devices, and the new MRI AutoDetect feature improves ICD patient safety, according to the company. Once activated, the smart function automatically recognizes when the patient is in an MRI environment. It then switches itself to MRI mode, and switches back to normal functionality when MRI fields are no longer detected. This potentially life-saving feature substantially reduces the length of time that Ilivia patients are left without full ICD therapy—a crucial advantage given that a dangerous cardiac arrhythmia requiring defibrillation can occur at any time.  

This is an improvement over the current situation, in which ICD patients undergoing MRIs visit their cardiologist who programs the device into MRI mode, temporarily reducing its functionality.
Following the scan, the cardiologist must program the device back to a non-MRI mode. The length of time this takes can vary after the MRI scan is completed. But with MRI AutoDetect, this window is reduced to only the duration of the scan itself.

“It’s only recently that MRI conditional devices have become the gold standard in CIEDs. These devices have seen continuous improvements, with the latest being the MRI AutoDetect function in Ilivia ICDs,” said Dr. Shigetaka Kanda of Tokai University Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. “The new function reduces the length of time a device is in MRI mode which is particularly beneficial for ICD patients as device therapy is disabled during this time. Thus the feature can improve patient safety and potentially save lives.”

Jeffrey Annis, Managing Director Biotronik Japan pointed out that the MRI AutoDetect innovation is celebrated in the cardiology community, having won the Cardiostim Innovation Award in the category “Best Practice Improvement” in June. “Patients and physicians in Japan are keenly aware of the benefits of MRI conditional devices, and there is no doubt they will welcome this enhancement to device functionality,” he added.

Biotronik ProMRI technology enables patients with a pacemaker, implantable defibrillator, cardiac monitor, or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) or pacemaker (CRT-P) to undergo an MRI scan. Devices with MRI AutoDetect have the additional capability of automatically recognizing an MR environment within a programmable time window, switching on the device’s MRI mode for only as long as is required to complete the scan, about 30 minutes. This ensures the patient receives the full benefit of their device for the maximum amount of time possible. BIOTRONIK has the broadest portfolio of cardiac devices approved for use in the MR environment on the market.

Biotronik is based in Berlin, Germany, and has a global workforce of more than 5,600 employees. Its U.S. headquarters is located in Lake Oswego, Ore.

References:
1. OECD Health Statistics 2013: http://dx.doi.org/….