Technology & Inventions : Emergency Medicine News

Talbot, Madeline

Abbott received FDA approval for an expanded indication of its FlexAbility Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled (SE), a flexible tip catheter that helps physicians identify abnormal signals and treat ventricular tachycardia in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. Eighty percent of study patients were free from VT for at least six months post-procedure, according to an Abbott press release. (http://bit.ly/3DZM17a.) Abbott also received CE Mark of its TactiFlex Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled, an ablation catheter with a flexible tip and contact force sensing, which the company said reduces procedure times and patients' exposure to radiation compared with standard power ablation. The TactiFlex catheter delivers high power while more easily adapting to the heart tissue compared with conventional catheters when used with Abbott's EnSite X EP System that allows physicians to identify areas in the heart that require ablation. The TactiFlex catheter uses a tip design with a laser-cut pattern that flexes when in contact with the heart wall to direct irrigation to the treated tissue and to increase catheter stability by up to two times. It is currently undergoing FDA review for pre-market approval.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given clearance to Penumbra's Lightning Flash, a mechanical thrombectomy system, according to a press release from the company. (Jan. 10, 2023; http://bit.ly/3HZWl04.) The system features technology that uses dual clot detection algorithms, and its catheter engineering is designed to distinguish flowing blood from clots and quickly remove large blood clots in the body, including venous thrombi and pulmonary emboli. Lightning Flash gives physicians a torqueable, larger catheter to remove a large clot burden in the pulmonary arteries or deep venous system more efficiently, while its computer-aided algorithms use pressure and flow-based algorithms to detect blood clot and blood flow. The catheter's inner diameter is similar to large-bore catheters but maintains a lower profile and a soft, atraumatic tip to help navigate the anatomy of the body. Lightning Flash is part of Penumbra's Indigo System with Lightning portfolio, which the company said are the only computer-aided mechanical thrombectomy systems currently available in the United States.

LumiraDx has begun shipping its point-of-care NT-proBNP test for diagnosing congestive heart failure in Europe. It is the only fingerstick NT-proBNP test currently commercially available, according to a company press release. (Jan. 31, 2023; http://bit.ly/3lwMc3n) LumiraDx's assay monitors levels of peptides elevated in heart failure, and is designed to diagnose individuals suspected of having congestive heart failure in community-based health care settings. The NT-proBNP delivers results in 12 minutes, and is available on the same POC platform as LumiraDx's SARS-CoV-2 antigen, HbA1c, D-dimer, INR, CRP, flu A/B, RSV, SARS-CoV-2 antibody, SARS-CoV-2 antigen pool, SARS-CoV-2 Ag Ultra, and Ultra Pool tests. On Feb. 1, LumiraDx also launched the Your Heart Matters Bus initiative with Medtronic and local health care trusts and charities in the United Kingdom to offer free heart health checks at a mobile walk-on service using the NT-proBNP test.

MS. TALBOT is an editorial assistant for Emergency Medicine News.

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