St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) said today that it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its Quadra Allure MP cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker, touting it as the world’s 1st to offer multi-point pacing.
The technology allows physicians to pace multiple locations on the left side of the heart to optimize CRT pacing using St. Jude’s 4-electrode Quartet LV lead, according to a press release.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based medical device maker cited a recent study it showing that multi-point pacing "may be particularly beneficial" in the ⅓ of cardiac resynchronization therapy patients who don’t respond to bi-ventricular pacing. The technology delivered a 19% improvement in responder rates after a year, the company said
"The St. Jude Medical quadripolar pacing system has been successfully designed for optimized outcomes, now adding multi-point pacing as an additional set of tools designed to decrease the rate of non-responders and improve clinical outcomes even in difficult to treat patients with ischemic heart disease," group president Dr. Eric Fain said in prepared remarks. "Building upon the industry’s 1st quadripolar platform, the multi-point pacing technology is an excellent example of our continued commitment to investing in innovative solutions that reduce health care costs and improve outcomes for patients.”
“From our initial experience, we think multi-point pacing improves cardiac function, resulting in better resynchronization and could be a further advantage of CRT," added study investigator Dr. Francesco Zanon of the Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital in Rovigo, Italy. "We observed significant improvement over traditional CRT pacing, and therefore believe this technology could have wide application because it is accessible for all CRT implanters."