Police charge Ohio man with arson, insurance fraud based on pacemaker data

Tim Casey | | Cardiovascular Business | Heart Rhythm

Police in Ohio charged a man with arson based in part on data collected from his pacemaker, the Associated Press reports.

Ross Compton, 59, pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and insurance fraud charges on Feb. 7 in Hamilton, Ohio.

The report mentioned that police retrieved data stored on Compton’s pacemaker, including his heart rate, pacer demand and cardiac rhythms before, during and after the fire. The fire occurred inside Compton’s home on Sept. 19.

A cardiologist said that due to Compton’s condition, it was highly improbable that Compton could collect his belongings and bring them to his car, as he had told authorities.

Compton’s next hearing is set for Feb. 21.

Read the full article below:

Man pleads not guilty in case based partly on pacemaker data

Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

Related Content

Atraverse Medical raises $29M to support FDA-approved heart tech
Judge triples damages in antitrust lawsuit, ordering Johnson & Johnson MedTech to pay $442M
AFib ablation during CABG improves survival
How anticoagulants may impact a patient’s risk of gastrointestinal bleeding after TAVR
Johnson & Johnson MedTech launches new 2D ICE catheter
Johnson & Johnson MedTech ordered to pay $147M for antitrust violations

Around the web

Health Exec
Tom Price: Medical residency slots need to expand to combat physician shortages

Tom Price, MD, former secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), said one way to address the growing shortage of physicians is to expand medical resident positions, but these are tied to Medicare spending so alternative means may be needed.

Health Imaging
Tariffs will have a significant impact on the nuclear imaging supply chain in the US

"Domestic radiopharmaceutical suppliers, who receive isotopes from abroad, would be impacted by price changes and uncertainty caused by additional tariffs,” SNMMI President Cathy Cutler, PhD, wrote in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce this week.

Radiology Business
U.S. iodine contrast supply may not be subject to proposed 25% tariffs

If President Trump initiates a 25% tariff against pharmaceuticals imported from Ireland, it might impact the price for X-ray iodine contrast agents in the U.S. depending what rules are put in place.