Showcasing its leadership position in pacing technologies, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), has announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and U.S. launch of its Advisa DR MRI™ SureScan® pacing system. The Advisa MRI system is Medtronic’s second-generation MR-Conditional pacemaker and is the first system to combine the most advanced pacing technology with proven MRI access. MRI is the standard of care in soft tissue imaging, providing information not seen with X-ray, ultrasound or CT scans, and is critical for early detection, diagnosis and treatment. Advisa MRI was specifically tested and approved for use as labeled with MRI scanners in the U.S. Of the 156 patients scanned in the Advisa MRI Clinical Trial, none showed any MRI-related complications. The new system includes an Advisa MRI device and two CapSureFix MRI™ SureScan® leads, which must be used together. “Your physician can implant a pacemaker with advanced options that will allow for broad access to MRI scanning,” said Dr. J. Rod Gimbel of Cardiology Associates of East Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. “MRI is just so very important and traditional pacemakers not FDA approved for MRI scanning often prevent the patient from having an MRI when they need it. With more than 85 percent of pacemaker patients being at least 65 years old and having multiple comorbidities for which MRI may be needed, it’s key that physicians and patients have a pacing system that allows MRI imaging as a diagnostic procedure.”
