ICD Safety Features Raise Standard of Care

A new portfolio of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are designed to lower the risk for lead abrasion and to ensure high voltage therapy delivery.

The Ellipse and Assura family of ICDs feature the DynamicTx over-current detection algorithm, which automatically adjusts shocking configurations within the device to ensure the delivery of high-voltage therapy if an electrical short in one portion of the system were to occur. In addition, the new ICDs feature a low friction coating on the device, which significantly lowers the chafing between the components, thus reducing the risk for lead-to-device abrasion, the most common type of ICD lead insulation failure in the industry.

Other features include expanded protection against inappropriate and unnecessary shocks with Optim lead insulation and SecureSense RV, which discriminates between lead noise and true ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) episodes. These technologies provide preventative and adaptive capabilities to address potential failures that can result in the inability to deliver high-voltage therapy when needed, especially in systems using silicone-only insulated defibrillation leads, which are known to be at higher risk of abrasion. The Ellipse and Assura family of ICDs are products of St. Jude Medical (SJM; St. Paul, MN, USA), and have received the European Community CE marking of approval.

“The goal for this innovative portfolio of devices is to bring implantable defibrillation reliability and patient safety to the next level,” said Eric Fain, MD, president of the SJM Implantable Electronic Systems Division. “The new Ellipse and Assura family of devices demonstrates St. Jude Medical’s commitment to developing technologies that provide physicians with advanced patient management tools to mitigate the most common ICD lead complications, especially those that can lead to ineffective high voltage therapy delivery.”

“The annual rate of lead defects increases over time regardless of manufacturer, and insulation failure accounts for 70% of lead failures in older leads,” add Johan Vijgen, MD, director of electrophysiology at Jessa Hospitals (Hasselt, Belgium). “With important safety features designed to ensure successful delivery of high-voltage therapy, these new devices offer my patients a higher standard of care.”

An ICD provides cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), resynchronizing the beating of the heart's lower chambers (ventricles), which often beat out of sync in heart failure patients, and provides back up treatment for sudden cardiac death (SCD). Studies have shown that CRT can improve the quality of life for many patients with heart failure, a progressive condition in which the heart weakens and loses its ability to pump an adequate supply of blood.

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St. Jude Medical
Jessa Hospitals