Search for: "defibrillators" - 101 articles found

Article • Experts explore the future of CSP, CRT, ICD

Implantable cardiac devices: which techniques are ready for prime time?

Opposing views on new implantable cardiac devices were aired in a Great Debate session at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual 2024 congress in London. Experts discussed emerging techniques and technologies and debated whether they are actually ready for clinical application. At the core of the session was the issue of whether conduction system pacing (CSP) should replace cardiac…

A technological solution for preventing device-detected subclinical AF?

As pharmacological options for subclinical Atrial Fibrillation and atrial high-rate episodes continue to run into challenges, new research suggests more physiological pacing solutions can help reduce risks of progression to clinical AF.

News • Under-diagnosed condition

AI-enabled stethoscope helps detect pregnancy-related heart failure

An AI-enabled digital stethoscope could help doctors identify twice as many cases of heart failure during pregnancy compared to regular obstetric care and screening, acording to a new study.

News • ICD usage in HF patients

Kidney dysfunction as a predictor of sudden cardiac death

A prospective study has revealed that kidney dysfunction may be a powerful predictor of sudden cardiac death. Findings could lead to revisions in the guidelines for ICD usage.

News • Cardiac arrhythmia treatment

Stop the shocks: developing 'gentle' defibrillation for the heart

Using a defibrillator can save lives in case of cariac arrhythmia – however, the strong electrical pulses are painful and may have negative side effects. A light-based approach aims to fix this.

News • Emergency AED delivery

Drones can bring defibrillator to the patient before ambulance arrival

When a person has a cardiac arrest, using an automated external defibrillators (AED) can be life-saving. New research shows that AED delivery via drone is often quicker than an ambulance.

News • Mobile point-of-care imaging

An MRI-equipped ambulance: A game-changer for stroke care?

Because time is brain: To explore the potential for accelerated stroke diagnostics, US researchers equipped an ambulance with a portable MRI – with promising first results.

News • First aid for cardiac arrest

Defibrillators save lives – even if the ambulance is almost there

Using a defibrillator for a cardiac arrest victim improves 30-day survival even with ambulance response times as short as two minutes, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023.

News • Study shows need for better education and awareness

Cardiac arrest: defibrillators only used in 1 of 10 cases

Defibrillators are being used in just one in ten cardiac arrests where the lifesaving devices are available, according to new research presented at a British cardiology conference in Manchester.

News • Resources on ICD devices

Medical videos on YouTube often provide incomplete information, study finds

Patients looking for infos on implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) should not rely on YouTube videos, as quality content on the topic is few and far between, according to new research.

News • Survival predictor

AI mines MRI to predict cardiac arrest

An algorithm built to assess scar patterns in patient heart tissue can predict potentially life-threatening arrhythmias more accurately than doctors can.

Article • Underestimated risk

Cybersecurity threat to remote monitoring devices

Remote monitoring devices and pacemakers supporting patients with conditions such as heart failure could be vulnerable to cyberattack, according to a leading cardiology expert.

Article • Medical technology event

Overview: Compamed 2021

Since Compamed could only be held digitally last year, due to the pandemic, the event now takes place publicly again. Almost 500 registrations from exhibitors prove that there is a high level of interest from medical technology suppliers – a huge step towards reaching normality again.

News • Cardiac arrest help takes flight

AED drone delivery shows great potential

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden can now report the results of a unique pilot project where drones were used to deliver defibrillators to real-life alerts of suspected cardiac arrest. The drones were dispatched in more than a fifth of the emergencies and arrived on target and ahead of the ambulance in most cases.

Article • Gender bias

Sex-specific guidelines for cardiovascular diseases

Women are missing out on appropriate cardiac care because guidelines and medications often fail to take into account gender and conditions that specifically affect the female population. Women are also underrepresented in clinical trials for new cardiac therapies.

Video • Airborne emergency support

Drone delivers defibrillator

Thanks to extended permissions obtained from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Sweden, autonomous drone company Everdrone will soon provide 200,000 people in Sweden with access to emergency medical deliveries of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) by drone as Everdrone expands operations outside the Gothenburg region.

News • Coronavirus and the heart

Covid-19 infection raises risk of dying after a cardiac arrest

Covid-19 patients who suffer a cardiac arrest either in or out of hospital are far more likely to die than patients who are not infected with the coronavirus. In particular, women have the highest risk of dying: they are nine times more likely to die after suffering a cardiac arrest in hospital, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.

Video • List by top clinicians and researchers

Top 10 medical innovations for 2021

An up-and-coming gene therapy for blood disorders. A new class of medications for cystic fibrosis. Increased access to telemedicine. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of clinicians and researchers from Cleveland Clinic. In conjunction with the 2020 Medical Innovation Summit, Cleveland Clinic…

Remote cardiac monitoring

For cardiology patients fitted with an implantable cardiac monitor, cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker, home monitoring is a blessing. The system also has many advantages for medical staff, as Kristina Rauholt reports. The nurse and Certified Cardiac Device Specialist for Allied Professionals (CCDS) at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden, has worked with home monitoring…

News • COVID-19

Ultraviolet light exposes contagion spread from improper PPE use

Despite the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), reports show that many health care workers contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which raises substantial concerns about the effectiveness of the PPE.

Taiwan innovators shine at Medica

Health tech Made in Taiwan is among the mainstays of every MEDICA; this year’s fair is no exception. In co-operation with the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Taiwanese Ministry of Economics and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), 20 world-class healthcare companies are demonstrating innovative medical solutions based on national advances in Artificial Intelligence…

News • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Restart a Heart: Learn how to save a life with CPR

Today is World Restart a Heart Day. That's why medical students from Cardiff University are taking part in what is expected to be the largest mass CPR training event ever conducted. Medics and other lifesavers all around the globe will teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to members of the public.

Article • Preview Medical Taiwan 2019

Healthcare exhibition showcases technology from Taiwan

Artificial intelligence clinics and rehab bikes, exoskeletons and stylish protections masks – healthcare in Taiwan has many faces and facets as the international medical & healthcare exhibition Medical Taiwan in Taipei will show from 27 to 30 June 2019. We visited participating companies and hospitals to give you a sneak preview of some of the highlights that might well create a buzz in…

Interview • Drones or data cables?

Are humans too slow for digitalisation?

Today the impressive development of drones by some people is happily regarded as the pinnacle of digitalisation in healthcare. Some groups are testing whether drones can quickly and safely deliver defibrillators to patients in need or whether they can transport laboratory samples or blood products. These developments catch lots of attention, but PD Dr Dominik Pförringer, trauma and orthopaedic…

News • Power to the pacemaker

Harvesting the heart's energy to power life-saving devices

The heart's motion is so powerful that it can recharge devices that save our lives, according to new research from Dartmouth College. Using a dime-sized invention developed by engineers at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, the kinetic energy of the heart can be converted into electricity to power a wide-range of implantable devices, according to the study funded by the National…

News • Defibrillator use

Italian law must change to improve survival from cardiac arrest

An Italian law requiring citizens to hold a certificate to use a defibrillator must change to improve survival from cardiac arrest, researchers argued today at Acute Cardiovascular Care 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress. “Automated external defibrillator (AED) use before the arrival of the emergency medical services (EMS) plays a key role in improving victim survival from…

News • Medical equipment

Lightweight tourniquets to save lives after a terrorist attack

SP Services (UK) is ready to supply thousands of newly designed lightweight tourniquets for use in public places in the event of a bomb, shooting or knife attack. The medical equipment has been specifically designed for people without medical experience by Brigadier Tim Hodgetts CBE, a UK surgeon who has worked in multiple war zones and is renowned for his innovations in dealing with combat…

News • Ventricular tachycardia

Deadly heart rhythm halted by noninvasive radiation therapy

Radiation therapy often is used to treat cancer patients. Now, doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that radiation therapy — aimed directly at the heart — can be used to treat patients with a life-threatening heart rhythm. They treated five patients who had irregular heart rhythms, called ventricular tachycardia, at the School of Medicine. The patients…

Article • Shareconomy

App accelerates first responders’ deployment

Point-of-care diagnostics (POC) has been established for 20 years. Comprehensive smartphone coverage and ‘shareconomy’ technology are now helping to push the development from previous business models towards a point of patient model.

Article • Gender solidarity

EPIC support for women in electrophysiology and cardiology

An all-female satellite symposium during the Europace-Cardiostim Congress (EHRA 2017) in Vienna managed to turn quite a few heads. In the panel, the women discussed a very special alliance.

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy improvements

Which CRT patients can be ‘downgraded’ from a CRT-D device with defibrillator function to a CRT-P with just a pacemaker function? This, with two further current CRT issues – chronotropic incompetence and telemonitoring of CRT patients – featured prominently at the Europace-Cardiostim Congress in Vienna.

News • Remote assistance

Can drones improve response times for cardiac arrests?

In a study involving simulated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, drones carrying an automated external defibrillator arrived in less time than emergency medical services, with a reduction in response time of about 16 minutes, according to a study published by JAMA.

Article • Point-of-patient

App accelerates deployment of first responders

Point of Care Diagnostics (POCT) has been established for 20 years. Comprehensive smartphone coverage and shareconomy technology are now helping to push the development from previous business models towards a point of patient model. The question is whether medical apps will have the same benefit as those employed for everyday use. Report: Anja Behringer

News • collaboration

MRI of pacemaker patients requires close radiology + cardiology collaboration

Thanks to advances in MRI-compatible cardiac device technology, pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are no longer absolute contraindications for MRI exams. The devices remain relative contraindications for MRI, however, and their presence in MRI patients calls for radiologists and cardiologists to work closely together in order to both ensure patient safety and minimize…

RDT shows new system to monitor defibrillation at Arab Health

RDT, a leading provider of pre-hospital care solutions, will be previewing its Tempus ALS™ monitor defibrillator at Arab Health 2017. Visitors to Stand Z1A59 will be able to see this innovative solution – which offers the benefits of a fully ERC-compliant defibrillator and an advanced monitor in a small and lightweight package – ahead of its official launch later in the year.

News • Cardiology

RDT unveils a new approach to monitoring defibrillation

Remote Diagnostic Technologies Ltd (RDT) previewed its Tempus ALS™ monitor defibrillator at MEDICA 2016, ahead of its official launch in early 2017. Tempus ALS offers the benefits of a fully ERC-compliant defibrillator and an advanced monitor in a small and lightweight package.

Article • Computer & computed tomography

The virtual-heart arrhythmia risk predictor

Research by a team at John Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, USA highlights the patients who are most likely to face lethal arrhythmias. They have developed a personalised 3-D virtual heart that can help predict the risk of sudden cardiac death.

Article • Patient care

Advancing AF and renal dysfunction care

An innovative cardiac monitoring system that delivers continuous resynchronisation to patients, has shown a 35% risk reduction of hospitalisation for heart failure (HF) patients. The finding comes from the RESPOND-CRT (cardiac resynchronisation therapy) clinical trial, which was designed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of device-based optimisation using the SonR cardiac…

News • MRI AutoDetect

BIOTRONIK Wins Cardiostim Innovation Award

BIOTRONIK has won the Cardiostim Innovation Award in the category “Best Practice Improvement” for its MRI AutoDetect feature. The company’s Ilivia implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization device (CRT-Ds) are the world’s first equipped with a sensor capable of automatically recognizing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment.

News • MEDICA 2015

Schiller: DEFIGARD Touch7

The latest member of SCHILLER’s rescue family is extremely compact and offers the latest defibrillation technology in combination with comprehensive monitoring functions. It is the first emergency monitor/defibrillator equipped with a touch screen, making it the most intuitive device on the market.

Article • Telecardiology

Home monitoring in fast action

Every year, worldwide, over a million patients have a pacemaker or defibrillator implanted. Home monitoring systems can significantly improve the safety and quality of life for these patients, says Professor Gerhard Hindricks, head physician in the rhythmology department at Leipzig’s Heart Centre. Report: Sascha Keutel

News • ESC Congress 2015

Biotronik presents its CRT-Ds approved for full-body MRI scanning

Biotronik, manufacturer of MR conditional cardiac devices, has announced CE approval for full-body MRI scanning for its last two generations of ProMRI cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator* (CRT-Ds) systems.

Real-time data for cancer therapy

In the battle against cancer, which kills nearly 8 million people worldwide each year, doctors have in their arsenal many powerful weapons, including various forms of chemotherapy and radiation. What they lack, however, is good reconnaissance — a reliable way to obtain real-time data about how well a particular therapy is working for any given patient.

Endurance athletes should be tested for fatal heart condition

Some athletes who take part in endurance exercise such as marathon running, endurance triathlons or alpine cycling can develop irregularities in their heartbeats that can, occasionally, lead to their sudden death. Evidence published in the European Heart Journal by Professor La Gerche and colleagues has shown that doctors who try to detect these arrhythmias by focusing on the left ventricle of…

Article • Patient Safety

Expert highlights hospitals vulnerability to hacks

Is your network safe? This loaded question made delegates shiver during Inforsalud 2015, the annual meeting of the Spanish Health Informatics Society, which was held Feb 17 - 18 in Madrid. Report: Mélisande Rouger

News • Medical devices

Pacemakers with Internet connection

The ageing of society needs new, more cost-effective solutions to improve the life quality of patients and cut the burden that is placed on the social welfare system. In modern western societies the fitting of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) is growing rapidly.

Article • Technology

ProMRI Technology allows 3T scanning

Cardiovascular technology specialist Biotronik has launched a new series of single and dual chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). ‘The Iperia/Itrevia/Inventra series gained CE approval in July 2014 and marked its first implantations worldwide in mid-July,’ the multinational biomedical technology firm reports.

Cardiac resynchronisation

This summer the world’s first implantations of Biotronik’s new ICD and CRT-D series (implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators) took place at the Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, Italy.

Preventing sporting deaths

Football authorities across the world have been urged to adopt a universal standard of emergency care to help cut the potential for serious injury or death during matches.

New ESC Cardiac Pacing and Resynchronization Guidelines

The 2013 ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy¹ developed in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), have created a new classification system for bradyarrhythmias according to mechanisms rather than aetiology.

Pacemakers, defibrillators and MRI

Not such a rare situation: A patient is due for an MRI scan to clarify a diagnosis. However, it transpires that this patient is fitted with an implant, say an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which is contraindicated for MRI examinations.

Implantable cardiac devices

Patients with cardiac implantable electric devices (CIED) need ongoing and lifelong follow-ups. Due to the growing number of CIEDs, the demand for follow-up visits is increasing rapidly and already pushing clinics to maximum capacities.

Top billing for cardiac MRI

Today, magnetic resonance imaging receives top billing in cardiology next to the co-star computed tomography while much hailed single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) plays but a minor role.

CIED patients can have MRI examinations

A new generation of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) includes the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy Defibrillator (CRT-Ds) and Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy Pacemakers (CRT-Ps). Professor W R Bauer at University Hospital Würzburg has been significantly involved in their development, EH Editor Ralf Mateblowski to ask him about…

Ambulance paramedics switch to on the spot electronic reporting

A British ambulance service has successfully made the transition from paperbased patient reporting to a fully electronic system enabling paramedics to capture patient data at the scene of an incident and transmit it to the receiving hospital ahead of arrival at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit.

Shopping for bargains at a virtual trade show

Stretchers, beds, furniture, defibrillators, scanners, pumps, sterilizing units, indeed equipment for all medical disciplines and departments, you name it, a browse around the website and a bit of bidding could provide your hospital with just what it needs – and save money.

Agfa HealthCare teams with Schiller America Inc. to strengthen cardiology reach

Agfa HealthCare announces today it has teamed up with Schiller America Inc., a leading international manufacturer and supplier of electrocardiographs, stress and cardiopulmonary exercise testing, long-term ambulatory Holter ECG and blood pressure recorders, spirometers, medical IT solutions, patient monitors and external defibrillators.

ESC roundup: Fixing heart conditions

Devices to treat chronic cardiac disease are winning credibility with new evidence from large-scale patient registries, John Brosky reports

New EU medical device legislation

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is calling for a single, co-ordinated European system to oversee the evaluation and approval of medical devices. The call is being made in a paper published online in the European Heart Journal reporting on a conference held by the ESC in January 2011 looking to increase the input of medical experts in developing medical device policy.

Europe's inconsistent use of device therapy in the prevention of sudden cardiac death

Even though the use of implantable devices for the treatment of heart failure and heart rhythm disturbances has increased enormously in Europe in recent years, there still remain large differences between countries. Indeed, a report last year in the European Journal of Heart Failure found that there is an underuse of devices in many of the European countries surveyed.(1) This is especially so in…

Picking up the pace

After years of go-slow adoption and cautious optimism, European cardiologists are now embracing remote monitoring of cardiac electrophysiology devices. ‘We are at the dawn of a new era,’ concluded Dr Philippe Ritter, Chairman of the Cardiostim 2010 congress, after reviewing findings of studies that delivered unequivocal evidence that remote monitoring is not only a safe alternative to clinic…

Getting to the heart of things

Not only is heart failure one of the single biggest causes of morbidity and mortality in man, but the incidence of the condition is steadily increasing. Rising to this challenge, innovative medical diagnostic techniques with ever greater performance are constantly being introduced so that early, unambiguous detection of the underlying condition is now possible, enabling the prompt initiation of…

Schiller AG - Pace maker of trends in emergency medicine

In Switzerland, they say, the clocks tick a little slower than elsewhere in the world. Not at Schiller AG in Baar, however: The company remains forever ahead of the times. Since 1971, physicist Alfred E Schiller, the company’s founder and managing director, has successfully shown competitors in the tough intensive and emergency care market what innovative progress really means.

Olomouc aims for national telemedicine centre

The teaching hospital in Olomouc aims to become a national centre for telemedicine. A telemedicine system is currently used by the hospital’s Internal Medicine Department 1 for cardiac patients and almost a hundred patients are remotely monitored via a telesystem implemented by the hospital.

A safe pacemaker for MRI scans

‘There are few reasons to deny a patient an MRI scan, and nearly all of them are having a pacemaker,’ said Pierre Bordachar MD at the Centre Hopitalière Universitaire (CHU), Bordeaux, France. Yet one-in-five pacemaker patients will require an MRI scan within the first year of receiving a pacemaker, while more than half of all pacemaker patients will need such a scan at some later point in…

CardiAid CT0207 AED

Manufactured by Amsterdam-based company CardiaTech Holland BV, which specialises in defibrillators and AED trainer units, the CardiAid Automated External Defibrillator (AED) has been designed to provide electroshock treatment for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

40 years of MEDICA

When we organised the first Diagnostic Week in Karlsruhe, in 1969, no one could have known that this event would one day turn into the annual highlight in the world of medicine, reflected Dr Wolfgang Albath, laboratory medicine pioneer and one of the founding fathers of MEDICA the world`s largest medical trade show. Initially planned as a moving exhibition, the show has been based in…

Telemonitoring in cardiology: Who benefits?

Cardiology centres worldwide experience an almost exponential rise in the number of in-hospital follow-ups of patients with implantable devices or heart failure (HF).This not only strains the available personnel resources, it also means a rapidly increasing cost to healthcare payers, especially in fee-for-service reimbursement situations.

TELEMEDICINE ADVANCES IN EUROPE

CARDIOVIT CS-200 - new design and additional features

CS-200: SCHILLER´s complete Diagnostic Solution has been redesigned, offering now even more added value. Discreet but important external modifications encompass a large, swivel-mounted 19`` monitor, as well as an ergonomic design. A new, simplified user-interface as well as various new holders and mounting kits for external devices such as gel bottles, bar code scanners, spirometry sensors and…

Post-MI mortality

Measuring left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) is the gold standard for determining the risk of cardiac death or sudden cardiac death after a myocardial infarction (MI). If LVEF is below 30%, a cardioverter-defibrillator is implanted to avoid such an event.

Clever kiosk scoops EAFS award

A potentially life-saving kiosk has been voted the best self-service application of 2009 by the Board of the European Association for Self-service (EAFS), during Kiosk Europe Expo 2009, held this May in parallel with Digital Signage Expo 2009 in Essen, Germany.

New therapy found to prevent heart failure

A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) versus patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).

Telemonitoring changes working practice of cardiac nurses

The 9th Annual Spring Meeting of the European Society of Cardiology Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (CCNAP), organised in cooperation with the Irish Nurses Cardiovascular Association (INCA), is being held at the Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland, on 24-25 April.

50th celebration of the birth of cardiac pacemakers

Arne Larsson was only 42 years old when his heart began to falter. In the late '50s it was virtually a death sentence in Sweden. But Arne saw lived to celebrate the millennium. In 1958, he had become the first patient to receive an artificial pacemaker. He had received 26 of these devices before his death in 2001, aged 86.

New European guidelines on heart attack management put emphasis on speed of action

Timing, emergency network, reperfusion therapy are central to new recommendations for the management of heart attack which have been developed by a Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and were issued on the 14th November.

Med-tech industry profits are hit by the global financial crisis

The sector is ‘clearly strained’, says Joachim M. Schmitt, Managing Director and Member of Board of the German Medical Technology Association, BVMed, in Berlin. But, the good news is, employment is up and, he adds ‘We are at the beginning of a medical technology revolution’. ‘Overall, healthcare is certainly more panic-proof than, for example, the automobile industry,’ said Joachim…

Article • Cardiology

Implantable cardiac monitors

Syncope (fainting) is a leading cause of hospital emergency visits. In almost 10% of patients, syncope has a cardiac cause; in 50%, a non-cardiac cause, and in 40% the cause of syncope is unknown. Syncope is difficult to diagnose as syncopal episodes are often too infrequent and unpredictable for detection with conventional monitoring techniques.

Defibrillator in space

Medicine is not earthly anymore. The first defibrillator has reached the International Space Station (ISS). LIFEPAK 1000 developed by Physio-Control of Redmond will be available for NASA crew members in case of a sudden cardiac arrest in space.

Cardiac devices not always beneficial

A new study from the Saint Louis University found that implantable cardiac devices are not beneficial in patients with advanced heart failure because they are too ill. "Implantable cardiac devices were not intended for, or studied as 'rescue therapy' for very ill hospitalized patients with heart failure," said Paul Hauptman, M.D., professor of internal medicine at Saint Louis University…

SCHILLER group acquires Medilog

On 1st May, Medilog became part of the SCHILLER group. Medilog will be SCHILLER's high-end Holter system. Medilog's additional products are an ideal complement to SCHILLER's present product range. The SCHILLER group very much looks forward to the coming co-operation.

A danger to patients' security and privacy?

Unexpected risks my result from today's medical devices, such as implantable cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers, if they are equipped with wireless technology to enable remote device checks.

Seeking distributors, partners or investors

After a successful market penetration, TMA Medical (founded 1993) is currently expanding its Mobile Care Unit (MCU) introduction worldwide.

From the American Heart Association 2007 meeting

Poster data presented at Scientific Sessions 2007 have demonstrated that the application of clinical practice modifications, combined with advanced electronic technologies, can improve the care of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

EU approves use of implantable defibrillator

The US firm Boston Scientific reports that it has received the Conformité Européenne (CE) Mark for its Confient implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the company's first branded cardiac rhythm management device to treat sudden cardiac death. Containing wireless capability, the Confient ICD has been designed to reduce right ventricular pacing.

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy

Switzerland - A clinical trial of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in patients with advanced heart failure and a narrow QRS complex

Cardiologists meet to sum up progress

During a meeting of cardiologists in Prague earlier this year to exchange experiences with new methods and treatments to control atrial fibrillation, Dr Josef Kautzner, Head of Cardiology Department at IKEM (Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine) pointed out that numbers of patients with AF will more than double during the next 20 years.

FRED® easyport

Cardiac infarction and cardiovascular failure are two of today's most frequent emergencies. SCHILLER's FRED® easyport® pocket is the only pocket defibrillator in the world.

Atrial Fibrillation monitoring

The first implant of the Reveal XT, an insertable cardiac monitor made by US firm Medtronic, which recently received CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark, was carried out in June by Professor Karl-Heinz Kuck MD, at the Asklepios Klinik St. Georg in Hamburg, Germany.

Trial to raise awareness of gender and CVD

More women than men die of cardiovascular disease (CVD) every year, yet females receive only 33% of angioplasties, stents and bypass surgeries; 28% of implantable defibrillators, and 36% of open heart surgeries.

Guess the best

Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), particularly when performed immediately by those witnessing a cardiac or respiratory arrest, definitively saves lives - especially in witnessed cases of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and childhood drowning events. Nevertheless, the frequency of bystander CPR still remains mostly low. In turn, survival chances for potentially salvageable patients remain…

Article • Mobile AED

The world's smallest defibrillator

The Fred easyport, the only pocket defibrillator in the world, which Schiller brought onto the market three years ago, was a huge success so far. From next year on, the device will also supply a manual shock option. It is so small (133 x 126 x 50mm) and light (490 g including the battery) that for many doctors it is already standard equipment in their emergency bag.The fact that this ‘life…

Electro-medical safety tester meets new IEC 62353 standard

Rigel Medical, part of the Seaward Group, has launched a new biomedical electrical safety analyser.

Philips From X-rays to Motiva homecare

To learn more about the presence of Philips in healthcare - and particularly cardiology - our Netherlands correspondent visited the company in Amsterdam.

Revised ACC/AHA/ESC guidelines on atrial fibrillation

Stroke risk should determine anti-clotting treatment for people with irregular heartbeat.

Stem Cells

By Professor Gustav Steinhoff MD, director of the Department for Cardiac Surgery, and Christof Stamm MD, co-ordinator of clinical studies, at Rostock University, Germany

Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Professor Paul Pepe and Dr Jane Wigginton discuss current research and concepts that will affect the future of basic CPR.

Firemen to treat emergency cardiac cases

UK - Fire-fighters are being trained to assess possible cardiac patients in emergencies, and to use automatic defibrillators and oxygen therapy.

Article • Company Profile

In the spotlight: Schiller AG

Alfred E Schiller, founder and managing director of Schiller AG, based in Baar, Switzerland, describes the rise of his company and its place in today’s highly competitive intensive care market. Alfred Schiller founded Schiller AG in 1971 and three years later introduced his first product – a pocket-sized electrocardioscope, which has been built on successively over the years. The…

AED - with spoken BLS instructions

For those without practised skills in using automatic external defibrillation (AED) and basic life support procedures, the prospect of coping with a case of sudden cardiac arrest is awesome.

Airline tests in-flight telemedicine

Lufthansa - the first airline company to offer high-speed broadband internet connection for data transmission - has used the trial phase of its new in-flight internet service, Lufthansa FlyNet, to test telemedicine potential on board.