St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) won Japanese regulatory approval to begin selling a defibrillator that continually monitors electrical changes in a patient’s heart.
St. Jude’s AnalyST implantable cardioverter defibrillator could help inform physicians more quickly of changes to the heart’s electrical system that can indicate conditions such as reduced blood flow, according to a press release.
The Food & Drug Administration hasn’t cleared the device in the U.S.
An ICD is an electronic device that delivers jolts to correct an abnormal heart rhythm. The AnalyST derives its name from the term “ST segment,” which refers to electrical changes in the heart.
The device’s monitoring feature allow for electrical changes to be continuously recorded and plotted, then retrieved for the physician to review during follow-up visits. Continuous monitoring is important because it gives physicians more comprehensive electrical-change information over time, rather than sporadic diagnostic reports, according to press release.
The surface electrocardiogram is the industry standard for diagnosing risk for heart tissue damage and arrhythmias. But surface ECGs have limitations, in that they provide only a few seconds of information at a time and cannot be used to continuously monitor the patient over a long period, according to St. Jude.
