Biotronik hits the market in Japan with Ilivia MRI-safe ICD

Biotronik said yesterday it launched its Ilivia magnetic resonance imaging-safe implantable cardioverter defibrillator in Japan.

The Berlin-based comapny said the Ilivia device features both its ProMRI technology and its MRI AutoDetect feature which automatially recognizes when the user is in an MRI environment and switches to MRI mode. The device then switches back to normal functionality when MRI fields are no longer detected.

“It’s only recently that MRI conditional devices have become the gold standard in CIEDs. These devices have seen continuous improvements, with the latest being the MRI AutoDetect function in Ilivia ICDs. The new function reduces the length of time a device is in MRI mode which is particularly beneficial for ICD patients as device therapy is disabled during this time. Thus the feature can improve patient safety and potentially save lives,” Dr. Shigetaka Kanda of Tokyo’s Tokai University Hospital said in a press release.

The company touted the launch in Japan, saying the country is the world’s largest MRI market with the most MRI scanners per capita at 47 registered machines per 1 million people.

“Patients and physicians in Japan are keenly aware of the benefits of MRI conditional devices, and there is no doubt they will welcome this enhancement to device functionality,” Biotronik Japan managing director Jeffrey Annis said in a prepared statement.

In July, Biotronik said it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its Edora line of MRI-adaptable pacers.

The German medical device company said the Edora pacemakers and cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers also use the MRI AutoDetect feature.

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