• Medtronic (Minneapolis) reported the U.S. introduction of the EnTrust implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The company said the EnTrust single- and dual-chamber devices expand its premium line of ICDs, which are designed to treat patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT) that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. The EnTrust ICD family was approved by the FDA on June 14. EnTrust is the first ICD to offer ATP During Charging, a Medtronic-exclusive feature that automatically uses pacing pulses to painlessly stop fast, dangerous heartbeats, while concurrently preparing to deliver a shock if needed. The company said recent clinical studies have shown that 90% of fast heart rhythms have the potential to be terminated by pacing alone. It said the use of this anti-tachycardia pacing to stop fast heartbeats has been clinically proven to eliminate three out of four shocks with painless therapy, potentially improving patient quality of life. The EnTrust dual-chamber ICD also helps reduce inappropriate therapy by better identifying episodes of supraventricular tachycardia, which may ensure that patients receive appropriate shocks. The dual-chamber version also incorporates a pacing mode called Managed Ventricular Pacing (MVP), which promotes natural heart activity by “significantly reducing” unnecessary pacing in the heart’s ventricle. This algorithm can reduce the amount of ventricular pacing to a median of 0.1%, compared to 50% or more with typical dual-chamber ICDs, Medtronic said. MVP has been available in several Medtronic pacemakers and defibrillators since 2004.
• Power3 Medical Products (The Woodlands, Texas) said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent No. 6,855,554, for which the company has a non-exclusive license from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The patent covers the method of discovering and detecting breast cancer through the identification of protein markers or a pattern of protein markers obtained from the application of proteomics to breast nipple aspirate fluid from women being tested for breast cancer. A second patent application, filed jointly by M. D. Anderson and the company, covering the proteomic techniques used in Power3’s NAFTest, is the subject of an exclusive license the company has with M. D. Anderson, and is currently pending. The NAFTest (Nipple Aspirate Fluid Test) involves generating a pattern of proteins in a sample using 2-D gel electrophoresis to identify differences between cancerous and non-cancerous samples from the same patient.