First human gets pacemaker in an anti-bacterial envelope
An antibacterial-covered envelope-like device that secures pacemakers in place as well as reduce the risk of infection has been successfully implanted into a 72-year-old man.
TyRx Pharma has implanted its AigisRx anti-bacterial envelope in a cardiac rhythm management disease (CRMD) procedure, conducted at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.
The new antibacterial envelope device is designed to stabilize pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) with the additional benefit of reducing potential risks of infections associated with implantation, according to the Monmouth Junction, N.J.-based company.
Ali Massumi, MD, director of cardiac arrhythmias and electrophysiology at St. Luke's and clinical professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, performed the first in-man, commercial implant during a pacemaker replacement procedure on a 72-year-old male patient.
Massumi inserted a replacement dual chamber pacemaker into the AigisRx antibacterial envelope in less than a minute, TyRx said. The AigisRx pacemaker device combination was subsequently implanted in the patient and the pacemaker replacement procedure was conducted normally thereafter.
The company said its AigisRx CRMD is intended to securely hold an ICD to create a stable environment when implanted in the body. In addition, AigisRx CRMD contains the antimicrobial agents, rifampin and minocycline, which have been shown to reduce infection by organisms representing a majority of the infections reported in CRMD related endocarditis.
TyRx Pharma has implanted its AigisRx anti-bacterial envelope in a cardiac rhythm management disease (CRMD) procedure, conducted at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.
The new antibacterial envelope device is designed to stabilize pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) with the additional benefit of reducing potential risks of infections associated with implantation, according to the Monmouth Junction, N.J.-based company.
Ali Massumi, MD, director of cardiac arrhythmias and electrophysiology at St. Luke's and clinical professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, performed the first in-man, commercial implant during a pacemaker replacement procedure on a 72-year-old male patient.
Massumi inserted a replacement dual chamber pacemaker into the AigisRx antibacterial envelope in less than a minute, TyRx said. The AigisRx pacemaker device combination was subsequently implanted in the patient and the pacemaker replacement procedure was conducted normally thereafter.
The company said its AigisRx CRMD is intended to securely hold an ICD to create a stable environment when implanted in the body. In addition, AigisRx CRMD contains the antimicrobial agents, rifampin and minocycline, which have been shown to reduce infection by organisms representing a majority of the infections reported in CRMD related endocarditis.