Britain’s first patient is fitted with a vital sensor capable of detecting heart failure – and it’s only the size of a pen lid
- The device is the size of a pen lid and monitors the amount of fluids in the body
- Some 900,000 people are estimated to be living with the disease in the UK
A heart failure patient has become the first in the UK to be fitted with a sensor that gives an alert if the condition worsens.
The device, the size of a pen lid, is designed to monitor the amount of fluid in the body – high levels can indicate heart failure.
Trials to adapt the FIRE1 system are underway at Southampton University Hospital.
The device is implanted into the largest vein, the inferior vena cava, using a catheter at the top of the leg. It is collapsed at the entrance so that it can be pushed into the abdomen, where it expands to its maximum size.
Patients then wear an external belt for one to two minutes a day that supplies the sensor with radio frequency energy.
The device, the size of a pen lid, is designed to monitor the amount of fluid in the body – high levels can indicate heart failure. Trials to adapt the FIRE1 system are underway at Southampton University Hospital
The hospital admitted 700 patients with the disease each year with 900,000 people living with heart failure in the UK costing the NHS £2billion a year.
Cardiologist Dr Andrew Flett, who oversaw the trial, said: “Heart failure is a significant burden on the NHS and so pioneering advances like this could help reduce that pressure.”
“This innovative new device has the potential to improve patient safety and outcomes in the care of patients with chronic heart failure and we are delighted to be the first site in the UK to implement as part of this. of this groundbreaking study.
“We have now successfully implanted a second patient with the device and data is already being transmitted, which we are looking forward to so we can intervene sooner with the aim of reducing hospital visits and maintaining the healthy patients longer.”
He added: “It is estimated that one in five people will develop heart failure and early intervention when patients start to deteriorate can make a huge difference and the hope is that this new FIRE1 device will do just that.
“This is an exciting new development for patients with this disease.”
The university spokeswoman added, “FIRE1 has successfully completed its first phase of clinical trials and is currently expanding its study to assess the feasibility and safety of implanting the FIRE1 System in patients with heart failure. heart.”
She explained that heart failure occurs when the heart cannot effectively pump blood around the body, resulting in fluid buildup.
She said the UHS admits 700 patients with the condition each year, with an estimated 900,000 people living with heart failure in the UK, costing the NHS £2billion a year.
It is estimated that some 900,000 people suffer from the disease in the UK.