First in New England: CMC Successfully Implants AVEIR™ DR, the World’s First Dual Chamber Leadless Pacemaker System

A new minimally invasive option to treat the nearly 80% of people who require pacing in two chambers of the heart.

Written By Laura Montenegro, Director, Communications & Public Relations

January 11, 2024

Catholic Medical Center (CMC) announces the successful implementation of AVEIR^™ DR, the world’s first dual chamber leadless pacemaker system from Abbott that effectively treats people with abnormal or slow heart rhythms. The groundbreaking system, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2023, provides CMC with a new minimally invasive option to treat the nearly 80% of people who require pacing in two chambers of the heart (both the right atrium and right ventricle).

“This achievement underscores CMC’s commitment to improving patients’ lives through state-of-the-art technology and innovation,” stated Edward McAndrews, Executive Director of CMC’s New England Heart & Vascular Institute (NEHVI). “Abbott’s groundbreaking dual chamber leadless pacemaker is a game changer for our patients and creates a significant opportunity to expand the number of people we can serve.”

Unlike traditional pacemakers, leadless devices are implanted directly into the heart through a minimally invasive procedure and eliminate the need for cardiac leads. As a result, leadless pacemakers reduce people’s exposure to potential lead and infection-related complications and offer a less restrictive and shorter recovery period post-implantation.

Roughly one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker, the AVEIR DR dual chamber leadless pacing system is made up of two devices—the AVEIR VR single chamber leadless pacemaker, which paces the right ventricle (VR), and the AVEIR AR single chamber leadless pacemaker, which paces the right atrium (AR). AVEIR DR incorporates Abbott’s novel i2i technology, which solves a significant engineering challenge by offering beat-to-beat communication between the two leadless pacemakers.

CMC’s Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology Dr. Jamie Kim performed CMC’s first implant on Monday, January 8, 2024. “Everything went according to plan and the patient is home recovering,” Dr. Kim reported. “We are proud of this entire team at CMC who have invested in this groundbreaking technology that will revolutionize care for those with slow or abnormal heart rhythms. This is now the gold standard of dual chamber pacemakers and our patients’ lives will improve because of it.” 

Through Abbott’s proprietary i2i^™ communication technology, AVEIR DR devices provide synchronized or coordinated cardiac pacing between two leadless pacemakers, tailored to the person’s clinical needs. The i2i technology utilizes high-frequency pulses to relay messages via the naturally conductive characteristics of the body’s blood. Conducted communication is critical because it uses far less battery current than inductive, radio frequency, or Bluetooth^® communication. AVEIR leadless pacemakers are also engineered to be retrieved should a person’s therapy needs change, or they need a replacement device in the future.
 

Click here for important U.S. safety information on AVEIR DR