Boston Scientific has announced six-month positive results from its ongoing pivotal MODULAR ATP clinical trial examining the company’s modular cardiac rhythm management (mCRM) technology.

The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine detail how the system successfully met its primary and secondary endpoints in terms of safety and efficacy, seeing 97.5% of participants experience no complications following the procedure, with an anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) success rate of 61.3%.

The Boston Scientific device consists of an Emblem subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) system and Empower leadless pacemaker (LP) which coordinate painless intracardiac anti-tachycardia pacing.

Cardiology and Electrophysiology consultant for Boston Scientific, Reinoud Knops said: “We saw excellent overall clinical performance of the mCRM System in this study, including a high rate of communication success from the S-ICD to the leadless pacemaker, and a low rate of major leadless pacemaker complications.

“These findings are noteworthy, as high percentages of communication success and pain-free termination of spontaneous arrhythmia episodes indicate a potential upgrade pathway for patients currently implanted with an S-ICD who develop a need for ATP or pacing.”

Boston Scientfic’s findings were presented before an audience at the Boston-based Heart Rhythm 2024 conference where the company also revealed results from its APPRAISE ATP clinical trial, a prospective, randomised, multicenter study evaluating ATP as a method of treating ventricular tachycardias in primary prevention (PP) patients. That trial has enrolled 2,626 patients indicated to receive an ICD at 134 centres worldwide.

Research by GlobalData details how the wearable technology market is forecast to grow from $99.5bn in 2022 to $290.6bn in 2030.

Kenneth Stein, chief medical officer for Boston Scientific, said: “Together, data from the MODULAR ATP and APPRAISE ATP trials reinforce the promise of the groundbreaking mCRM System, illustrating a clear path forward for physicians to offer therapies that prevent sudden cardiac death and deliver ATP for the small number of patients who benefit from it.

“Instead of subjecting all patients to the risks of more invasive approaches, such as placing leads in the heart or tunnelling them under the sternum to provide therapies they might not require, these data indicate physicians may have the opportunity to tailor therapy to the patient’s individual needs and health.”

Elsewhere in the field of anti-tachycardia pacing, health tech company Element Science has received an EU CE mark certification and UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marketing for its own digital wearable defibrillator. At the same time, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Medtronic’s Aurora EV-ICD MRI SureScan extravascular implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Advertisement

The National Weather Service confirmed that four tornadoes touched down in the Pittsburgh area in the latest round of severe weather.

The storms last Friday produced three EF-0 tornadoes, and an EF-1 tornado. It also included the first in the City of Pittsburgh limits since 1998.

A tornado was also found to have touched down at Pittsburgh Zoo last Friday. It caused minor damage, but the Zoo remained open to the public on Saturday.

The three other tornadoes were found in Westmoreland County, Washington County, and at the Allegheny County Airport.

Each year, towns in Connecticut go through the painful budget process, and my town of South Windsor is no different. What is different is how politically charged this has become.

The basis of the politicalization seems to be rooted in “the tax issue.” This past year South Windsor went through the real estate re-evaluation process required by law every five years. With the rise in real estate values, those evaluations increased dramatically.

The good news; your house is worth more. The bad news; your tax burden is going up.

This did not sit well with many residents. So, in November, the town voted out our super-majority Democrat Party Town Council and voted in a super-majority Republican Party Town Council. The Republicans had campaigned on a platform of cutting taxes, which obviously appealed to many voters.

It waits to be seen whether new town leadership can hold the line on taxes without negatively impacting our schools, town services, head count, and more. This is not a partisan issue. The dread of higher taxes is not a Republican or a Democratic thing. I view it as a practical thing.

Let me explain. I moved to Connecticut in 2002 having lived most of my life in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I learned quickly after moving here that property taxes in Connecticut were not just high, they’re stupid high. And on top of that I had to pay a tax because I own a car. I’ve never paid a personal property tax in my life previously.

Why is this? It’s simple math – towns need revenue to support expenditures. The revenue side is static. Connecticut does not have a prolific tax base. There is no Boston generating billions in tax revenue. Our statewide population is that of a Minneapolis or Tampa. We are not getting a windfall. So practically speaking, the only place to adjust is on the expense side. And here we have a wonderful opportunity.

That opportunity is called, regional government. It is a state-wide solution. This state is a victim of an incredibly inefficient provincial system of government that goes back to colonial days. We have 169 little kingdoms each duplicating the costs of each other. This creates an insane level of cost redundancy. We operate in fiscal silos with few or no economies of scale.

And you know who agrees with this? Forty-eight other states, none of whom do government this way; only Connecticut and Rhode Island operate in this manner. Think about that enormous duplication of costs across; parks and rec, public works, elderly services, tax collection, legal advisers, economic development, health services, IT infrastructure and education, just to name a few budget line items that could be streamlined.

Back in the 60s and 70s there was an attempt to move to regional government but it was so poorly executed that it failed. The infrastructure already exists as we have counties and planning groups called Regional Councils of Government. For this massive change to occur we need the will of leaders. But the grassroots level is where it needs to start as elected officials will not want to cede power.

Voters have to assert their will.

This is not a solution for today. It would take years if not decades to get to regional government. But 48 states have proven it works. If we’re serious about reducing taxes this is one big swing of the bat can get us there. For young families planning a long-term future in Connecticut, this would benefit kitchen table issues. If we start now, maybe your kids won’t have to pay a tax to own a car.

Paul Bernstein is a retired marketing executive who lives in South Windsor.