Abbott’s Confirm Rx ICM revolutionizing lives
In these unnerving times, personal health and hygiene has possibly become the most important aspect of our daily lives. And it’s just not about yourselves, rather in a broader aspect, for the betterment and safety for the whole society and mankind. On this basis, we delve deeper into the appliances which make our lives easier and some portable devices available in the market which impart valuable diagnostic information — notably the Abbott’s next-gen Confirm RX Implantable Cardiac Monitor 24/7 monitoring of heart rhythm disorders.
This product is essentially a mélange of an HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and an ICM (Insertable Cardiac Monitor). In layman terms, a monitoring device such as this displays heart rate in real-time and monitors heart rhythm over a longer length of time than is provided by other tests or monitors for later study. Now, where is this device placed? On your wrist? Wrong! Such a device/ICM is placed just under the skin during a minimally invasive procedure in the chest above the heart.
Having an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) is more common than you might think. There is a 4x more chance that an irregular heartbeat can put you at risk of having a stroke. However, an irregular heartbeat can be easy to treat and monitor once diagnosed, thanks to the ample monitoring devices available. Now, wearables can track cardiac arrhythmias but they have their own limitations when it comes to making a ‘clinical diagnosis’. For example, many require recharging at night, which can cause the device to miss irregular heartbeats occurring sporadically and infrequently. Others require some level of interaction by the person to record symptoms, which may not be top of mind when feeling light-headed, dizzy, or experiencing a rapid heart rate. Even though the rise in heart rate monitoring has increased awareness about Atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia, most of these portable devices DO NOT lead to an improved diagnosis and sometimes fail to alert their respective care team to a potentially dangerous heart event.
So, unlike other monitoring devices, Confirm Rx ICM solves a plethora of such disadvantages and provides continuous 24/7 monitoring. The new detection technology in Abbott’s product reduces false detection by 95% and avoids alerting physicians of irregular heartbeats that may not actually signal a cardiac arrhythmia. The next-generation version of Abbott’s Confirm Rx ICM incorporates new SharpSense™ technology and Bluetooth® wireless technology, allowing patients to connect using their own mobile devices. Patients can use the “myMerlin™” mobile app to communicate with the Heart Monitor. One can also capture one’s own symptoms, using the app, when something doesn’t feel right.
With the introduction of this smartphone connectivity along with an easy-to-use app; Remote Monitoring has never been so engaging. This brings forth patient compliance with less disruption to daily lives. Earlier, physicians didn’t have favorable options when confronted with this dilemma. They could have the patient monitor symptoms on their own with a limited wearable device, such as a traditional EKG monitor, which can be a burden for the patient to wear day in and day out and time-consuming for the physician to obtain and interpret results, in part due to a lack of smartphone connectivity.
Micah Meulmester, Sr. Manager of Device Ops in Abbott’s Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) business, turned the engineers’ designs into reality by making the implanted device only 3.1 millimeters thick. “Size is an important thing for our patients because they don’t really want to know that it’s there and get tensed,” Meulmester says. “Because of its discreet size and smartphone connectivity, it’s something that patients don’t have to act on or worry about. The challenge for our engineers is how do you make a cost-effective product while also pushing the boundaries of technology?” It was an important innovation to understand packaging and manufacturing the technology in such a small device while also protecting the electronics from the body’s fluids and harsh internal environment.
Alex Soriano, Dir. mechanical development and material science in Abbott’s CRM business always mentions the astounding amount of unmet clinical needs at all points of time. To improve patient’s lives through engineering principles but also working smart, both Meulmester and Soriano came prepared for the challenges that the development of this next-gen device presented.
Since the first implantable pacemaker was developed in 1958, millions have benefited from pacemaker therapy. The remarkable story of the first cardiac pacemaker will be embedded in history as Abbott continues its commitment to revolutionizing arrhythmia detection and management with their state-of-the-art Confirm Rx™ ICM.
