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Optimising pacemaker settings

Surprisingly, dramatic developments in heart failure pacemakers have not been accompanied by development of optimal ways to tune them in to the ideal settings to benefit the patient.

In award-winning research as part of his PhD at ICCH, Dr Zachary Whinnett created a new, quick, cost-effective and highly consistent way to tune new pacemakers to the ideal settings.

optimisation map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Example of an optimisation map for an individual patient used to identify their best settings.

 

 

optimising pacemakers

‘Mr Wilkins, a patient in a nearby hospital, was terribly disappointed when he had his heart pacemaker fitted to treat his heart failure. Instead of the prompt and dramatic benefit he had been hoping for, there was no improvement in his symptoms. It turned out that the pacemaker had been left at standard settings (like a radio left at factory settings, and not tuned into a preferred station). Mr Wilkins was referred to us because we had developed a new method for fine-tuning pacemaker settings to get the maximum benefit for the patient and we were able to help him. ICCH is now working to have this innovative development made available to all patients with pacemakers throughout the world, to ensure that they obtain the full benefit of the procedure that they undergo.’

Dr Zachary Whinnett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Zachary Whinnett

 

 

 

 

Dr Andreas Kyriacou has been awarded a Clinical Research Training Fellowship by the British Heart Foundation for research at ICCH. Part of this involves following on from Dr Whinnett’s success, to develop a similarly reliable and inexpensive method that will consistently fine-tune patients’ pacemakers.

Dr Andreas Kyriacou

Dr Andreas Kyriacou
Contact: Eric Stevenson   59-61 North Wharf Road   London   W2 1LA   info@ffch.org