St Jude Medical, a medical device company, has announced several updates to its PressureWire platform including a new marketing agreement with Siemens Medical Solutions USA, for the wireless PressureWire Aeris and the availability of latest PressureWire Certus technology, at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) annual meetings.
The enhanced capabilities make Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) measurement technology versatile and accessible for physicians around the world, which aids in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery blockages.
FFR is an index determining the functional severity of narrowings in the coronary arteries, and it is measured by PressureWire Aeris and PressureWire Certus. The PressureWire Aeris and Certus provide FFR measurements, which indicate the severity of blood flow blockages in the coronary arteries.
The physiological measurement helps physicians to better identify which specific lesions are responsible for a patient’s ischemia, a deficiency of blood supply to the heart caused by blood restriction.
The PressureWire Aeris system offers a secure, wireless interface between PressureWire and a cath lab’s hemodynamic recording system to immediately display, measure and save FFR data. With FFR results integrated into a patient’s existing study record, the severity of coronary lesions is documented together with other procedural data and angiographic imagery. The wireless technology of the PressureWire Aeris also eliminates cables crossing the sterile field, reducing variables and making the entire procedure faster and easier.
St Jude Medical’s new agreement with Siemens will enable integrated wireless FFR measurement with PressureWire Aeris as an upgrade to hospitals using the Siemens Axiom Sensis XP.
Because of the new agreement with Siemens, and existing compatibility with other recording systems including the GE Mac-Lab Hemodynamic Recording System, Mennen Horizon XVu and the McKesson Horizon Cardiology Hemo solution, the PressureWire Aeris technology can be used in the majority of cardiac cath labs for wireless integrated FFR measurement utilising existing hardware.
The new PressureWire Certus includes modifications to design and functionality which will provide physicians with more controlled handling and versatility. It is the guidewire on the market to offer in one wire the combined measurement of pressure and temperature which enables calculations of FFR, Coronary Flow Reserve (CFR) and an Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR).
Frank Callaghan, president of cardiovascular division at St Jude Medical, said: “The PressureWire segment is one of the biggest areas of growth for St. Jude Medical’s interventional business because of its clinical benefits and ability to reduce the cost of PCI procedures. We continue to invest in PressureWire technology to improve its ease-of-use and to help establish FFR measurement as a standard of care across a broader range of patients.”