9 Promising Cardio Technologies: Leadless Pacemakers

Leadless Pacemakers

Both St. Jude's Nanostim (top) and Medtronic's Micra (bottom) leadless pacemakers have CE Mark approval. 

In comparison to traditional pacers, leadless pacers don't have transvenous leads, don't require surgery, are a fraction of the size, and can be repositioned and retrieved. 

There are two main options in the leadless pacemaker market right now: St. Jude Medical's Nanostim and Medtronic's Micra, both of which have CE Mark approval. Both are delivered to the heart via a catheter snaked up through the femoral artery. While Micra boasts the smallest size, both devices are tiny, at less than one-tenth the size of a traditional pacer. Both devices also have long-lasting batteries, with an approximate life of 10 years for Micra and 9-13 years for Nanostim.

St. Jude is expected to file a PMA submission for FDA approval of Nanostim in the second half of 2015 while Medtronic anticipates a U.S. launch of Micra in the company's 2017 fiscal year, which starts in late April 2016.

[Images courtesy of ST JUDE MEDICAL and MEDTRONIC]

Learn how to design innovative structural heart therapies at the MD&M Minneapolis conference on September 21, 2016.