Study Reveals Pressure Sensor Implant Could Save Lives

The medical journal, The Lancet, recently carried out a study that revealed a wireless monitoring device, implanted in an artery between the heart and lungs that helps to minimize hospitalizations.

Doctors at the present time depend upon a patient’s weight and blood pressure to monitor medication. This data is however not very reliable. The new implant in the pulmonary artery is close enough to the heart to be able to sense symptoms even before they are apparent to the human eye. The sensor lets the physicians to determine fluid and pressure levels inside the patient’s heart and lungs. It is a wireless device that does not need a battery or any other component. The patient uses a pillow with a specific device that relays a benign radio signal to fuel the implanted sensor to receive the required pressure readings.

Atlanta-based company, CardioMEMS has developed the sensor. The device is yet to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration. In the study, 550 patients from 64 health centers across the country received the sensor implants. They record data once a day and transmit it to the physicians via a computer. Another batch of patients was monitored directly by the physicians who depended on pulse and blood pressure readings.