A report via PRNewswire on a cardiac stimulation system from Impulse Diagnostics, Inc, which has just started Phase II trials:
the OPTIMIZER™ delivers non-excitatory impulses to the heart during a period of time called the absolute refractory period (ARP). These signals do not initiate the heart to beat (like a pacemaker would do) but are intended to modify heart cell function for the treatment of heart failure. This phase of the trial is a follow-on to Phase I, which completed enrollment in December 2004 and included 50 patients implanted with an OPTIMIZER™ System.
“The OPTIMIZER™ System is an exciting technology with the potential to treat those underserved patients with Class III or Class IV heart failure who presently have no other options,” said Dr. William Abraham, Chief Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Ohio State University, who is serving as the Co-principal Investigator of this multicenter clinical study. “If proven safe and effective, the OPTIMIZER™ System has the potential to help this large and growing patient population.”
It seems novel to use electricty for a purpose other than pacing — but they’ve got data showing nonstimulatory electric pulses improve heart contractility in failing hearts.
More at Impulse Diagnostics, Inc…
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