Two New Boston Scientific Heart Defibrillators Get Approval in Europe
January 23rd, 2008 amy
Although they’ve yet to be approved by the FDA in the U.S., two new heart defibrillators made by Boston Scientific Corp have been approved in Europe. The defibrillators are the Cognis cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator and the Teligen implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The devices were designed to be small and lightweight with long battery life. The first devices are scheduled to be implanted in European patients next month, the Worchester Business Journal reports.
Here in the U.S., defective defibrillator recalls and fracturing lead wires have put other defibrillator makers Medtronic and St. Jude in the public eye, as well as in court. Medtronic faces multiple lawsuits for its defective Sprint Fidelis lead wires, which are prone to fracture and were linked to five deaths before the recall happened last October. St. Jude’s Riata defibrillators also made headlines and caused heartaches (literally) in late 2007 after those leads fractured and pierced holes in patient’s hearts.












