A Wireless Heart Implant To Reduce The Medical Bill For Cardiac Patients

CardioMEMS has developed a hair pin sized wireless pressure sensor which can be implanted in the heart of patients having a risk of heart failure. CardioMEMS is an Atlanta based company dealing in medical devices and implants. This implant helps to check the pulmonary artery’s fluid pressure regularly and eliminates the need of visiting a physician on a frequent basis. A recent trial conducted by the company gave astounding results by reducing the number of hospitalizations by about 39%. This small but highly efficient device is implanted using two metal loops which fix the sensor on the walls of the pulmonary artery. Once installed, the transducer in the sensor takes the fluid pressure readings and transmits them wirelessly using radio frequency module to the patient’s doctor via a modem. The physician can then prescribe medicines based on the data received from the implant.

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The developers of this sensor and many other researchers in the field expect that it will bring down the medical bills of the patients and also reduce their chances of heart failure. This device is one of the several concept models created by CardioMEMS and other firms for easier and personalized health monitoring of chronic patients.

Now a days, cardiologists prioritize pulmonary pressure monitoring while doing initial check up but tend to do this less frequently in the following sessions. The reason for avoiding this step is the lengthy process involved in taking the pulmonary fluid pressure. For this, the doctor has to push a catheter inside the patient’s heart and inflate a balloon. However, this pressure varies greatly on a day to day basis and hence continuous monitoring of this parameter is of utmost importance for proper treatment of the ailment. Many a times, patients do not realize that their pressure might have increased and it’s too late when they finally call the doctor. So the sensor data will be a boon for such patients as their heart’s condition will be monitored regularly.

This device is implanted in the pulmonary artery where the risk of blood clotting is minimal. The device’s smaller size in comparison to the other such prototypes can be attributed to the absence of wires and battery. The sensor is supplied power from an external source which is a receiver placed in a pillow. When the patient relaxes on this pillow, the device is excited by the RF module and it takes the readings which are wireless transmitted for physician’s review.

CardioMEMS is currently trying to obtain a license for the device from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The firm is currently trying to integrate this sensor’s receiver in mobile phones so that the data will be available to the patients and doctors for immediate review.

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