Biotronik has announced the European launch of a new lead for tachycardia therapy that features a helical design for increased long-term performance through stress reduction. The Plexa ProMRI lead is made for use with implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) as well as cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds).
“The average person’s heart beats more than 100,000 times a day, so you can imagine that ICD leads undergo a substantial amount of movement and bending with every contraction. For this reason, leads must be able to endure a lot of stress,” says Jan Schmidt, Clinic for Cardiology, Angiology und Pneumology at the University Hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany.
According to a company release, Plexa ProMRI is the culmination of eight years of research and development to continuously further enhance the quality of ICD leads. The new lead is intended to offer enhanced resilience through a performance-driven helical design that is resistant to bending stress. The helical design concept was introduced to ICD leads by Biotronik in 2013 with the DF4 connector. With the launch of Plexa ProMRI, for the first time this design has been brought to the intracardiac region.
“Taking the low impedance conduction of ICD leads and the high durability of pacemaker leads, Plexa ProMRI combines the best of both worlds to offer an ICD lead that can face high levels of stress in the areas it is needed the most,” says Schmidt, one of the first physicians to implant the Plexa ProMRI lead.
