St Jude Medical Get FDA Approval to Market Unify Quadra
FDA marketing green light for SJM’s quadripolar pacing system
The FDA has given St Jude Medical the go-ahead to market its Unify Quadra cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) and Quartet left ventricular quadripolar pacing lead. The company will begin shipping the products to its salesforce to begin providing to customers immediately.
Collectively, the Unify system offers physicians the ability to effectively and efficiently manage the ever-changing needs of patients with heart failure. It integrates multiple pacing configurations and Tailored Therapy features that enable physicians to use the system at implant and follow-up, as well as better manage common pacing complications without having to surgically reposition the lead. The system is also approved for remote patient management using the Merlin.net patient care network.
The Quartet lead, used as part of the Unify Quadra system, features four electrodes spaced over 4.7 cm, enabling up to ten pacing configurations. A number of pacing configurations allow the physician to implant the lead in the most stable position without making trade-offs in electrical performance. This includes pacing closer to the base of the left ventricle, which recent studies associate with better patient outcomes and which may be more difficult with traditional bipolar leads. The quadripolar pacing electrodes also provide physicians more options to monitor CRT performance, such as pacing around scar tissue in the heart and avoiding the most common pacing complications.
Heart Hospital of Austin, Texas
The first US implant of the device has taken place at the Heart Hospital of Austin in Texas. Dr David R. Tschopp , director of electrophysiology at Heart Hospital of Austin , implanted the Unify Quadra quadripolar pacing system to regulate and resynchronise the heartbeat of a heart failure patient. The patient was diagnosed with non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition resulting in decreased blood supply due to the heart’s main pumping chamber being enlarged, dilated and weak. Unify Quadra was determined to be the best fit because of the patient’s condition and the device’s ability to optimise the delivery of therapy.
Common pacing complications that can occur in patients implanted with a CRT system include high pacing thresholds and unintentional phrenic nerve or diaphragmatic stimulation. Patients with high pacing thresholds require significantly higher energy to pace the heart, which may reduce the device’s battery life requiring patients to have more surgeries to replace devices or cause pacing to be ineffective. Phrenic nerve and diaphragmatic stimulation also occur when the electrical output from a device inadvertently activates the diaphragm muscle, causing patients to hiccup with the delivery of the pacing stimuli. Both conditions are often due to the location of the pacing lead electrode and, with limited pacing options, may require that the lead be repositioned surgically or CRT be disabled.
Articles source, Cardiovascular Device Business

Espicom Business Intelligence
Tagged with: Cathode ray tube • DEFIB UNIFY QUADRA CRT SYS • dr tschopp austin tx • Food and Drug Administration • Heart failure • heart hospital of austin • Implanted cardiac resynchronization device • medical equipments blogs • medical heart blogs • Patient • Phrenic nerve • quadra technology st. jude • sjm quadra fda approval • st jude medical get fda approval to market unify quadra • st jude medical quadra • st jude's unify quadra • St. Jude Medical • st. jude medical quadra first • unify cardiac resynchronization • Unify Quadra • Unify Quadra cardiac defib who • unify quadra crt-d • unify quadra defibrillator • unify quadra remote monitoring • why get the quadra implant
Filed under: Medical Technology
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
The Unify system offers physicians the ability to effectively and efficiently manage the ever-changing needs of patients with heart failure. It integrates multiple pacing configurations and Tailored Therapy features that enable physicians to use the system at implant and follow-up, as well as better manage common pacing complications without having to surgically reposition the lead.
Beachside Surgical Supplies
Beachside Surgical SuppliesUrl : http://beachsidesurgicalsupplies.com/ engages in the distribution of healthcare products, medical supplies and http://beachsidesurgicalsupplies.com/products.html pharmaceuticals to many different size facilities such as hospitals, clinics, physicians, pharmacies, home care facilities, spas, and alternative points of care. We provide exceptional personal and professional services to our outstanding customers. We are located in Huntington Beach, Southern California and incorporated on September 2003. http://beachsidesurgicalsupplies.com/products.html
Beachside Surgical Supplies
Thanks for sharing.
Excellent site, keep up the good work. I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog.