BERLIN--()--BIOTRONIK a leading manufacturer of innovative medical technology, announced today the first implantation of the new Lumax 740 ICD (implantable cardiac defibrillator) in Hong Kong. Lumax 740 is the world’s first and only ICD and CRT-D series approved for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)1, now giving ICD and CRT-D patients access to vital MR scans with BIOTRONIK’s innovative ProMRI® technology. This combined with the product’s extended device longevity and BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring®, brings the Lumax 740 series to the forefront of cardiac devices for patients with tachyarrhythmias.
“BIOTRONIK’s ProMRI® innovation in the Lumax 740 series is an important breakthrough for patients needing ICDs,” says Dr. Jeffrey Wing-Hong Fung, Director of Electrophysiology Laboratory at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital. After the international launch on April 17th 2012, the first device implantation of a Lumax 740 ICD in Asia was successfully performed by Dr. Jeffrey Wing-Hong Fung.
“I am glad that BIOTRONIK’s ProMRI® innovation in the Lumax 740 series is finally available to patients in Hong Kong and that ICD patients can now benefit from this technology,” said Dr. Fung. “Until now, patients with an ICD had been excluded from undergoing MR scans despite the fact that these scans are critical for the diagnosis and therapy of patients with serious medical conditions, such as cancer, stroke and other neurologic and orthopaedic conditions.”
Worldwide, the population of patients who need an ICD is growing at a rate of about 10–15 percent annually. At the same time, the need for MR scans is also increasing at a rate of about 10 percent each year. Approximately 30 million scans were performed in 2006, and in 2010, there were already about 50 million MR scans conducted worldwide.2 The soaring rates of patients needing ICDs and the increasing need for MR scans result in an estimated 50–75 percent probability that an ICD patient would be indicated for an MR scan over the lifetime of his or her implanted device.3
The new Lumax 740 series is part of BIOTRONIK´s technologically advanced tachycardia product portfolio, which includes three ICDs, one CRT-D device and 16 leads. The Linoxsmart ICD leads have been proven over time to be of the highest quality and reliability, and are now further enhanced with ProMRI®. Besides featuring ProMRI® technology, the devices also stand out in the industry by providing longevities of up to 11 years.
“BIOTRONIK has a strong strategic commitment to bring innovative products of the highest quality and reliability to the Asia Pacific market and to build a powerful market leadership in the region,” commented Christoph Böhmer, Managing Director BIOTRONIK. “With the opening of our new regional headquarters in Singapore in January 2012, BIOTRONIK will fully leverage the accelerated development of the Asia Pacific countries to further propel the industry-leading growth trajectory that the company has maintained during previous years,” he continued.
As a global enterprise that has achieved consistent double-digit growth in revenue during the last seven years, as well having doubled its job opportunities for employees, BIOTRONIK has built a strong presence in Asia Pacific.
About BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring®
BIOTRONIK has pioneered advances in its BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring® remote patient management system since its first clinical application in the year 2000. The system is unique because it allows continuous, automatic wireless remote monitoring of patient status and device status with daily updates—all independent of any patient interaction. The technology leads to earlier intervention, as proven by the results of the TRUST4,5 landmark trial. Today, BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring® is used extensively in more than 5,300 clinics and 56 countries worldwide.
About ProMRI®
ProMRI® allows patients with a pacemaker, ICD or CRT-D to undergo MR scans. The BIOTRONIK ProMRI® tachycardia series marks the first time an ICD-/CRT-D portfolio has been designed, tested and approved to make MR scans possible. As a result, physicians have the unique opportunity to select the optimal device from the Lumax 740 series—offering their patients the most advanced therapy available along with access to MR scans.
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: www.biotronik.com
References
1 For detailed information about ProMRI® including the complete set of conditions and prerequisites please visit www.biotronik.com/promri
2 Morgan Stanley, ICD market, 1996–2009.
3 Roguin et al., Europace 2008, 10, 336–346.
4 Varma et al., Circulation 2010, 122, 325–332.
5 Varma et al., Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2010, 3:428–436.
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