St. Jude Medical announces updates to PressureWire platform at ACC and SIR annual meetings

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ), a global medical device company, announced several updates to its PressureWire™ platform, including a new marketing agreement with Siemens Medical Solutions USA, for the wireless PressureWire™ Aeris and the availability of the next-generation of PressureWire™ Certus technology, at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) annual meetings. The enhanced capabilities make the company’s leading Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) measurement technology, which aids in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery blockages, more versatile and accessible for physicians around the world.

“The PressureWire segment is one of the biggest areas of growth for St. Jude Medical’s interventional business because of its clinical benefits and ability to reduce the cost of PCI procedures”

The PressureWire Aeris and Certus provide FFR measurements, which indicate the severity of blood flow blockages in the coronary arteries. This physiological measurement helps physicians to better identify which specific lesion or lesions are responsible for a patient’s ischemia, a deficiency of blood supply to the heart caused by blood restriction.

“The PressureWire segment is one of the biggest areas of growth for St. Jude Medical’s interventional business because of its clinical benefits and ability to reduce the cost of PCI procedures,” said Frank Callaghan, president of St. Jude Medical’s Cardiovascular Division. “We continue to invest in PressureWire technology to improve its ease-of-use and to help establish FFR measurement as a standard of care across a broader range of patients.”

PressureWire Aeris Agreements:

The PressureWire Aeris system offers a secure, wireless interface between PressureWire and a cath lab’s hemodynamic recording system to immediately display, measure and save FFR data. With FFR results integrated into a patient’s existing study record, the severity of coronary lesions is documented together with other procedural data and angiographic imagery. The wireless technology of the PressureWire Aeris also eliminates cables crossing the sterile field, reducing variables and making the entire procedure faster and easier.

St. Jude Medical’s new agreement with Siemens will enable integrated wireless FFR measurement with PressureWire Aeris as an upgrade to hospitals using the Siemens AXIOM Sensis XP. The AXIOM Sensis XP is one of the most widely used hemodynamic recording systems in cath labs and offers advanced measurement programs which aid physicians in interventional procedures.

Because of this new agreement with Siemens, and existing compatibility with other recording systems including the GE Mac-Lab® Hemodynamic Recording System, Mennen Horizon XVu and the McKesson Horizon Cardiology Hemo™ solution, the PressureWire Aeris technology can be used in the majority of cardiac cath labs for wireless integrated FFR measurement utilizing existing hardware.

Next-Generation PressureWire Certus:

The new PressureWire Certus includes modifications to design and functionality which will provide physicians with more controlled handling and versatility. It is the only guidewire on the market to offer in one wire the combined measurement of pressure and temperature which enables calculations of FFR, Coronary Flow Reserve (CFR) and an Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR).

The PressureWire Certus was the only FFR measurement system used in the landmark FAME (Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) vs. Angiography in Multivessel Evaluation) trial, which found both superior clinical outcomes and reduced healthcare costs in patients whose treatment was based on FFR.

FAME Trial:

Recently presented two-year follow-up data from the landmark FAME trial demonstrated that the combined risk of death or myocardial infarction (heart attack) was 34% lower for patients whose treatment was guided by PressureWire technology prior to coronary stenting. Additionally, FFR measurement did not increase the procedural time.

FFR-guided treatment using the PressureWire system was also found to save healthcare costs, with a difference of about $2,000, or 14%, in reduced costs between the two patient groups after one year. These lower healthcare costs were a result of reduced procedural costs, reduced follow-up costs for major adverse cardiac events and shorter hospital stays.