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Web-based Heart Attack Alert System |
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Innovative Web-Based Product from Physio-Control Named
One of the Year's Hot Products
Other Topics:
OsteoGram Regulatory Clearance
Physio-Control
July 28, 2008
LIFENET® STEMI Management Solution Offers First Web-based
Community-wide Alert System for Reducing Time to Treatment for
Heart Attack Patients
Redmond, WA -- Physio-Control, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Medtronic, today announced it offers the LIFENET STEMI
Management Solution, a unique combination of web, broadband and
medical technology, that reduces time to treatment for heart
attack patients. The solution is potentially lifesaving for
patients experiencing STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial
infarction), a dangerous form of heart attack that impedes or
blocks blood flow to the heart. The Journal of Emergency Medical
Services (JEMS) recently named LIFENET technology as one of its
Hot Products for 2008. |
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The LIFENET STEMI Management
Solution allows paramedics to use the latest broadband
technology to transmit diagnostic-quality cardiac information
(12-lead ECGs) from the LIFEPAK® 12 defibrillator/monitor in the
field to a web-based system managed by Physio-Control. The
system then reliably and securely distributes the information
via the Internet to hospital care teams on internet-connected
devices including computers in the emergency department and
cardiac cath lab as well as the cardiologist’s handheld device.
Rapid delivery of 12-lead ECG data alerts care teams to a STEMI
patient as quickly as possible, allowing them to prepare ahead
of the patient’s arrival.
“The addition of the LIFENET technology to our arsenal has been
of great benefit to our patients,” said David Chisholm,
battalion chief, Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue
Services, Maryland. “It has proven very effective in
transmitting high quality 12-lead ECG recordings to our
receiving facility. This allows the receiving physician to feel
confident in the field provider’s interpretation of the 12-lead
and activate the cath lab team. It is great to see the cath lab
team waiting for the patient when they roll through the
emergency department door.”
Because STEMI affects one or more of the arteries that carry
blood to the heart, it poses a serious threat to the heart
muscle. Treatment includes balloon angioplasty, often with stent
placement, in the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab, hence
the term “door to balloon” (D2B) time. Studies show that time
from the onset of STEMI to treatment is critical for improving
survival and outcomes for these patients. Having this new system
enables patient care teams to more consistently meet the
guideline for treatment in 90 minutes or less, as recommended by
the American Heart Association and the American College of
Cardiology.
Brian Webster, president of Physio-Control, said, “Physio-Control
has long been a pioneer in helping medical teams care for
patients with life-threatening cardio-respiratory events. As the
first web-based system for STEMI management, the LIFENET system
delivers lifesaving information when and where it is needed.
This helps communities set up STEMI-alert systems that can have
a dramatic effect on reducing door to balloon times for patients
by helping care providers make timely treatment decisions. This
can save lives and improve outcomes for STEMI patients.”
More about the LIFENET STEMI Management Solution
With the LIFENET STEMI Management Solution, care providers can
make treatment decisions while the patient is still in
transport. The medical team can transport patients to a facility
capable of providing the appropriate treatment, where the
cardiac catheterization (cath) lab is prepared in advance,
avoiding delays in treatment. Knowing the diagnosis before the
patient arrives can significantly reduce D2B times as well as
decrease unnecessary cath lab activations.
”It is very exciting to watch communities all across the country
embrace the LIFENET STEMI Management Solution,” said Randy
Merry, vice president of medical informatics at Physio-Control.
“In only a few months we have achieved an impressive level of
customer acceptance of the LIFENET system, illustrating the
benefit it provides users. We are also pleased that LIFENET
STEMI was selected by the Journal of Emergency Medical Services
(JEMS) as one of its ‘Hot Products’ in June 2008, and recognized
as a solution whose design improves emergency medical services
for both providers and patients.”
Although Physio-Control is currently under a consent decree with
the FDA, under certain exceptions, the company is permitted to
manufacture and ship a limited selection of product to meet the
most critical needs of emergency response customers. LIFENET
STEMI Management Solution is included in the exceptions,
enabling all government and a limited number of private
customers to upgrade their systems in order to better meet the
current standard of care for STEMI patients.
More about STEMI
The American Heart Association estimates that every year, nearly
400,000 people in the U.S. experience STEMI. Pre-hospital
diagnosis of STEMI is essential to improving care. Studies
report a significant relationship between pre-hospital 12-lead
ECGs and shorter D2B times, with two recent studies showing the
effect was strongest when the cath lab was activated while the
patient was still en route to the hospital (Circulation, 2006).
Although it is critical that STEMI patients receive care in
facilities with the ability to perform angioplasty and insert
stents, fewer than 25 percent of hospitals can provide this
treatment (Circulation, 2007). The Journal of the American
College of Cardiology (2006) reported that mortality for acute
cardiac events has been shown to increase 40 percent if D2B time
stretches from 90 minutes to 120 minutes.
About Physio-Control
For more than 50 years, Physio-Control, maker of the renowned
LIFEPAK defibrillators, has been developing technologies and
designing devices that are legendary among first response
professionals, clinical care providers and citizens everywhere.
With more than 650,000 LIFEPAK defibrillators distributed
worldwide, the company is the leading provider of external
defibrillation and monitoring technology for saving the lives of
patients with sudden cardiac arrest and other cardio-respiratory
emergencies. For more information, visit www.physio-control.com. |
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