Heart devices will not hinder MRI tests anymore

Heart devices will not hinder MRI tests anymore

69 year old Ashok Trikha, first Indian implanted with the First ever MRI Compatible ICD at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute

New Delhi, September 21, 2012 - ICDs (Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator) are for sure heart saving devices but at the same time they hinder life saving tests too.  Being MRI prohibitive, they become cause of loss of life too, But not anymore. Biotronik has innovatively made such devices that will not be impacted in anyway by MRI scans, if need arise.

BIOTRONIK’s new ProMRI® technology, which for the first time allows implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) and heart failure patients to undergo life-saving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, is really a life saving innovation.

A team of doctors from Escorts led by Dr Anil Saxena, Associate Director & Clinical Head, Cardiac Pacing & Electrophysiology and Dr Aparna Jaswal, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Dept. of Cardiac Pacing & Electrophysiology, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute have implanted India’s first Lumax ProMRI® 640 ICD, in a 69 year old male patient.

Mr. Ashok Trikha was brought to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute with symptoms of Sustained VT (continuous fast heart rate, a major cause for Sudden Cardiac death).   Dr Anil Saxena and Dr Aparna Jaswal along with their team implanted India’s first Lumax ProMRI® 640 ICD.  The patient is doing fine.

“It is very important for patients to have access to MRI - the ‘gold standard’ for soft tissue imaging and critical for the diagnosis of conditions such as cancer and strokes,” commented Dr. Anil Saxena. “Patients with standard ICDs, CRT-Ds and CRT-Ps are currently denied access to MRI due to the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields produced by MRI but 50–75% of them will be indicated for an MR scan during the lifetime of their device.”

“BIOTRONIK’s ProMRI® technology is groundbreaking,” informed Dr. Aparna Jaswal. “Physicians now have the opportunity to implant an advanced, high quality device that treats life-threatening arrhythmias - and also allows the use of MRI to diagnose serious comorbidities.”

“Since 2003, Biotronik products have been in development with a long-term view that MR scans for patients with a cardiac device will be a market requirement in the future,” said Tushar Basu, Managing Director at BIOTRONIK India. “Today this has resulted in BIOTRONIK’s ability to deliver the world’s first and only MRI-approved ICDs, CRT-Ds and CRT-Ps, a true milestone in cardiac rhythm management therapy.”

BIOTRONIK’s broad, technologically advanced ProMRI® product portfolio, which features the new Lumax 640 ProMRI® ICD and Evia ProMRI® HF-T pacemaker series, includes 3 ICDs, 2 pacemakers as well as a CRT-D (cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator) and a CRT-P (cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker) device and more than 16 compatible leads.

About BIOTRONIK GmbH & Co. KG

As one of the world’s leading cardiovascular medical device companies, with several million implanted devices, BIOTRONIK is represented in over 130 countries with its global workforce of more than 6,200 employees. Known for having its finger on the pulse of the medical community, BIOTRONIK assesses the challenges physicians face, and provides the best solutions for all phases of patient care, ranging from diagnosis to treatment to patient management. Quality, innovation and reliability define BIOTRONIK and its growing success, and deliver confidence and peace of mind to physicians and their patients worldwide. ( www.biotronik.com)