NEW DEVICE FOR TREATING PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE APPROVED BY FDA The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a breakthrough medical device for patients suf- fering from chronic, hard-to-treat heart failure. Although new to the U.S. it’s currently implanted in over 3,500 patients in Europe, China, Brazil and India, according to Impulse Dynamics. Impulse Dynamics created the device called the Optimizer Smart System (OSS), which monitors heart activity and delivers non-excitatory electrical signals to the right heart valve. The OSS includes a pulse generator that’s implanted under the skin, a battery charger, programmer and software. The generator then “delivers electrical impulses to the heart during regular heartbeats to help improve the heart’s squeezing capability,” according to the FDA. The OSS allows for patients to seek treatment for moderate-to-severe heart failure after standard treat- ments failed.
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MARCH 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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