Continuous cardiac monitoring can significantly benefit those with unexplained health symptoms that are often a sign of underlying heart conditions. Holter monitors have been around for decades, but they’re bulky, inconvenient, and can be pretty stressful to wear with all the wires attached to the chest.
Small implantable cardiac monitors have been released by St. Jude Medical, BIOTRONIK, and Transoma before, but Medtronic has developed the smallest one yet and just announced FDA clearance and CE Mark for the device. Additionally, the first U.S. implant of the monitor has also been announced. The Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) is about 1 cubic centimeter in volume, making it a third smaller than a AAA battery, and implantable using the provided incision and insertion tools within minutes.
The device monitors the heart, and wirelessly sends the recorded data to the MyCareLink patient monitor that in turn uploads the readings via the cellular system to Medtronic’s servers for physician review. Adverse and unusual readings can be preset to send alarms to the overseeing physician, allowing for quick and properly defined treatment. The battery is meant to last for three years of continuous monitoring and the internal storage has been increased over the company’s previous older implantable heart monitor, the Reveal XT.
Product page: Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitoring System
Press release: Medtronic Announces Global Launch of Miniature Cardiac Monitor, Reveal LINQ(TM) ICM