Boston Scientific has initiated use of the Latitude NXT Remote Patient Management System with patients in Europe. Roberto Verlato, head of cardiology, Camposampiero Hospital, Verona, Italy, initiated use of the Latitude NXT system with a patient implanted with an Ingenio SR pacemaker, and provided the patient with a new home-based wireless communicator.
“We welcome the next-generation Latitude NXT system as it provides pacemaker patients with a simple and easy-to-use communicator that may replace certain in-clinic follow-up visits. The system offers clinicians the most comprehensive suite of diagnostic tools in the cardiac rhythm management industry to support proactive treatment decisions and provide an opportunity to verify improvement of clinical outcomes, as was demonstrated for ICD and CRT-D patients in the Altitude Survival study,” said Verlato.
The Latitude NXT website and patient communicator merge key features from the trusted Latitude system with new features requested by physicians and patients, and is fully compatible with Boston Scientific’s advanced pacemaker family: Ingenio and Advantio pacemakers and Invive cardiac resynchronisation therapy pacemakers (CRT-P).
The system offers wireless and automatic remote follow-up and optional integrated cellular GSM connectivity. In addition, Latitude NXT features a unique communicator-initiated device interrogation which is designed to minimise impact on implanted device battery longevity, potentially giving patients greater peace of mind.
Latitude NXT offers health care professionals a system that provides convenient online access to relevant pacemaker patient information, and flexibility and control in how clinicians receive and review data. The Latitude NXT system features alert notification options such as SMS message or email, simple website administration, and integration with the hospital medical database (electronic medical records, or EMR) to automate hospital workflow – which could save up to 15 minutes for each patient transmission, the average time it takes to manually enter routine device follow-up data into an EMR system.
The system is compatible with the wireless weight scale and blood pressure monitor from Boston Scientific. Physicians can choose to remotely monitor a series of relevant health status indicators including weight and blood pressure, as well as respiratory and sleep apnea trending. By providing access to this diagnostic information, Latitude NXT enables physicians to risk-stratify patients to more confidently make informed, proactive treatment decisions.
The Latitude NXT Remote Patient Management System is currently under review by the FDA and is currently not available for sale in the United States.
