BIOTRONIK launches Idova 7 - the most powerful ICD approved for MR

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical technology, announced the launch of the new Idova 7 series today. Idova 7 ICDs (implantable cardioverter-defibrillators) and CRT-Ds (cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators) offer ultrahigh-energy therapy without compromising on short charge times (10 sec), smaller size (34 cc), and outstanding longevity of more than eleven years. Designed to stop life-threatening arrhythmias with the very first shock, Idova 7 gives patients valuable peace of mind.

As the only device on the market approved for MRI that is also able to offer 45 joule, Idova 7 is engineered to increase the success rate of the first shock and reduce the need for subsequent shocks. Idova 7 therefore enhances security for doctors and patients, offering them the promise of successful therapy from the very beginning.

“Ideally, a patient’s heart would react the same way to ICD therapy in real life as it would when tested after implantation. But that is not so often the case,” commented Dr. Clemens Steinwender, General Hospital Linz, Austria. “If I can give my patients that extra energy at the first shock, then I can assure them they are on the safe side.”

For ICD therapy to be successful, it is crucial to be aware of a patient’s defibrillation threshold (DFT), defined as the amount of energy required to shock the heart back to a normal rhythm. But DFT has a tendency to rise over time, and require higher amounts of energy. Higher DFTs can be caused by factors as widespread as prescribed medication, severely dilated hearts, or young age and high activity levels.

“There are many variables that are related to the patient’s health and lifestyle, and not under my direct control. These can unfortunately affect defibrillation thresholds without our advanced knowledge,” explained Dr. Fabrizio Caravati, Hospital Fondazione Macchi of Varese, Italy. “It is important to be able to reassure patients that they have the maximum amount of energy at their disposal, in the event they should need it,” continued Dr. Paolo Bonfanti, Hospital Fondazione Macchi of Varese, Italy.

“After launching Ilesto and Iforia, we can now broaden our second generation of ProMRI® devices with the ultrahigh-energy Idova 7 series,” commented Christoph Böhmer, President International at BIOTRONIK. “Like all innovative BIOTRONIK implants, Idova 7 will also be available with BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring®, which rapidly detects clinically relevant events like arrhythmias and can thereby prevent stroke and reduce hospitalization. In fact, the results of the recent IN-TIME study, introduced at this year’s ESC conference, demonstrated a significant reduction in all-cause mortality in heart failure patients with implant-based remote monitoring.”

First implanters of the BIOTRONIK Idova 7 series are:

• Dr. Clemens Steinwender, General Hospital Linz, Austria
• Dr. Fabrizio Caravati, Hospital Fondazione Macchi of Varese, Italy
• Dr. Paolo Bonfanti, Hospital Fondazione Macchi of Varese, Italy