Boston Scientific Corporation has launched COGNIS cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) in the Chinese market. Professor Farong Shen in Zhejiang Lucheng Hospital and Professor Wei Hua in Beijing Fuwai Hospital have implanted COGNIS cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator in its first patient from China’s Zhejiang province and Beijing successfully.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is a treatment option for some heart failure patients that can help the heart pump more efficiently. A CRT-D system can also defibrillate the heart when an arrhythmia occurs.

COGNIS offers Electronic Repositioning, with six pacing configurations, to manage high pacing thresholds and unwanted diaphragmatic muscle stimulation. SmartDelay AV Optimization provides individualized therapy without the need for a time-consuming echocardiogram. COGNIS also offers HF Perspectiv, a proprietary suite of diagnostics, including Heart Rate Variability Footprint which gives clinicians an objective view of patients’ response to therapy. These features are paired with three left ventricular leads designed to reach and remain in the target vessel. Boston Scientific ENDOTAK RELIANCE defibrillation leads have a 98.5 per cent survival probability at 10 years, the highest in the industry.

The COGNIS CRT-D is the thinnest in the world with exceptional longevity. COGNIS battery technology is the culmination of seven years of research and is unique to Boston Scientific. The projected life expectancy of COGNIS products reaches more than eight years, which is much longer than similar CRT-Ds on the market. Longer-lasting CRT-Ds may significantly reduce the risk of a secondary operation and lessen the financial burden incurred from device replacement.

As for the first implantation of COGNIS in China, Professor Shu Zhang, chairman of the Chinese Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology Society and director of the Cardiac Arrhythmias Treatment Centre of Beijing Fuwai Hospital, said, “The successful introduction of COGNIS CRT-D once again demonstrates that Boston Scientific, a leading enterprise in the pacing and electrophysiology industry, introduces advanced medical technologies and products.”

Professor Wei Hua, chief physician of cardiovascular department in Fuwai Hospital, also commented, “The Boston Scientific CRT-D System provides clinicians with many implantation choices, including different forms of the left ventricular lead, which I believe drive a  high success rate of CRT-D implantation.”

“COGNIS is small and thin, but it has a long service life,” said Professor Farong Shen, executive hospital director and head of the cardiology center in Lucheng Hospital. “I believe that it is indeed a groundbreaking CRT-D product for patients.”

Boston Scientific provides advanced less-invasive medical products and services to its customers and patients and transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world.