Medtech giant Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) this week announced 1st-in-human implantation of its tiny catheter-based pacemaker, the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System.
The device is about the size of a "large vitamin" and doesn’t require leads to connect to the heart, relying instead on "tines" to conduct electrical impulses through an electrode at the end of the device.
The device is implanted via catheter through the femoral artery in the leg, eliminating the need for surgical incisions in the chest or the creation of the "pocket" beneath the skin needed for traditional pacemakers. That could mean fewer potential complications related to the device and no visible signs of the pacemaker, which is 1/10th the size of a traditional implant.
"Micra TPS is an example of the significant investment we have made in disruptive technology, specifically the miniaturization of implantable cardiac devices," Medtronic cardiac rhythm disease management president Pat Mackin said in prepared remarks. "Less invasive, miniature device technologies show strong promise in improving patient outcomes and implant procedure efficiency. Through our global Micra TPS clinical trial, we intend to generate robust evidence of these benefits to patients and clinicians throughout the world."
The 1st implant was performed in Austria as part of Medtronic’s global pivotal clinical trial for the Micra TPS technology. The device is currently investigational only in global markets.
