First U.S. Patient Implanted With BIOTRONIK Lumax 740 Defibrillator Equipped With SMART(R) Detection to Avoid Unnecessary Shocks

(Click here for details)
BIOTRONIK's Lumax 740 ICD and CRT-D series

LAKE OSWEGO, OR--(Marketwire - August 14, 2012) -

"Patients on anti-arrhythmic medication may have slower ventricular tachycardias, which can influence a patient's hemodynamics and directly affect a device's ability to discriminate arrhythmias and successfully restore a normal rhythm," said Larry A. Chinitz, M.D, Director, Cardiac Electrophysiology, Invasive Cardiology at the NYU Heart Rhythm Center, NYU School of Medicine. "In addition, the presence of atrial arrhythmias can confuse the device if it isn't able to tell the difference between a lethal arrhythmia and a non-lethal arrhythmia."

Lumax 740 has a unique feature, called SMART^® detection, which aids in rhythm discrimination and reduces unnecessary therapies. It continues to discriminate between atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, with a high level of specificity, even when an arrhythmia is redetected. Reducing unnecessary therapies also reduces the risk for long-term medical consequences that may result from inappropriate shocks. Atrial arrhythmias are the main culprit for patients receiving inappropriate shocks.

"The Lumax 740 series is based on a revolutionary technology," commented Rex Richmond, Vice President Marketing BIOTRONIK, Inc. "It incorporates state-of-the-art circuitry in a remarkably efficient design, offering industry-leading longevity nearly to a decade of service."

"Our focus on quality is core to our design principles," continued Richmond, "and we know that high quality and durable systems are better for patients and less costly for the healthcare system over time. For five decades, BIOTRONIK has been completely focused on manufacturing the most reliable devices and leads. We, and our customers, are proud of the bar we've set for the industry in that respect."

Managing heart failure progression
Increased lung fluid levels can be one indicator of heart failure progression. Lumax 740 devices contain BIOTRONIK's TI feature, which measures thoracic impedance. The patient's physician can use this information as additional insight to manage critically important aspects of patient care, including drugs used to adjust fluid levels.

Of vital importance is timely access to this critical information, which has been unavailable until now. With the Lumax 740 system, its innovative BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring^® technology automatically transmits a patient's clinical and device status on a daily basis -- making it readily available to the physician without the need for any patient interaction. BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring^® is the industry's only remote patient management system with FDA- and CE-approval for early detection of clinically relevant events. TI is one of nine meaningful heart failure parameters transferred by BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring^®. Several parameters allow for customizable alert settings.

About Lumax 740
The Lumax series of ICDs and CRT-Ds offers unique technologies that are useful now -- and into the future as a patient's cardiac health changes. Lumax 740 is more informative to help manage a patient's heart failure progression; more specific to help reduce the chances of patients receiving an inappropriate shock as confirmed by the ECOST¹ study; and more durable with extended longevity and an ICD lead backed by BIOTRONIK's unsurpassed record of reliability. The device's implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) lead is backed by BIOTRONIK's unsurpassed record of reliability.

About BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG
As one of the world's leading cardiovascular medical device companies, with several million implanted devices, BIOTRONIK is represented in over 100 countries with its global workforce of more than 5,600 employees. Known for having its fingers 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 and treatment to patient management. Quality, innovation and clinical excellence define BIOTRONIK and its growing success -- and deliver confidence and peace of mind to physicians and their patients worldwide.

For more information: http://www.biotronik.com/

Reference
¹ Kacet S, presentation at ESC Congress 2011 in Paris, France.