St. Jude Releases GPS-Like Surgical Technology

St. Paul, Minn.-based medical device colossus St. Jude Medical Inc. has released its new MediGuide technology, a 3-D navigation system that captures vascular and cardiac anatomy on a recorded fluoroscopic image instead of live fluoroscopy (a series of X-ray images). The use of recorded images reduces the length of radiation exposure during cardiovascular procedures.

“The launch of MediGuide technology is significant as it allows clinicians to perform cardiac procedures with less fluoroscopy and the corresponding exposure to harmful radiation,” said Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, M.D., cardiologist at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., the first medical facility in the United States to use the MediGuide technology system. “This system reduces the need for live fluoroscopy while providing unprecedented views inside the heart, improving complex cardiac resynchronization therapy and cardiac ablation image-guided procedures for physicians, patients and medical staff around the world.”

Similar to a global positioning system (commonly known as GPS) that automobile drivers use to determine the location of their car on a map, MediGuide technology allows physicians to see the precise location and orientation of MediGuide Enabled devices inside the heart. Using magnetic tracking to locate miniature sensors embedded in devices, such as the MediGuide Enabled Livewire diagnostic catheter and the CPS Excel MediGuide Enabled guidewire, this technology applies 3-D visualization to previously recorded fluoroscopic images in real-time. Automatic adjustments are made to the recorded images to maintain an accurate, real-time clinical representation compensating for cardiac motion, respiratory changes and patient movements to minimize workflow delays, according to St. Jude.

“MediGuide technology is the only real-time cardiac navigation and visualization platform that allows physicians to reduce fluoroscopy during cardiac procedures,” said Frank J. Callaghan, president of the St. Jude Medical cardiovascular and ablation technologies division. “St. Jude Medical continues to be committed to developing technologies that minimize radiation exposure in the EP lab, improve procedural repeatability and increase clinical and economic efficiency.”
Worldwide, physicians perform several billion radiation-based imaging studies annually, approximately one-third of which are in cardiovascular patients. According to the American Heart Association, the collective dose of ionizing radiation that patients annually received during medical tests increased among the general population by roughly 600 percent between 1980 and 2006. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in human exposure to ionizing radiation.

MediGuide technology integrates the Artis Zee angiography systems, a line of interventional radiology and cardiology imaging devices, from Siemens Healthcare. Combined, the technologies provide improved navigation during EP procedures.

St. Jude Medical develops a wide range of medical devices and technology in the cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular, and neuromodulation sectors.

Photo of MediGuide working with Artis Zee angiography systems courtesy of Siemens Healthcare.