May 24, 2016

by Lauren Dubinsky , Staff Reporter

This first appeared in the May 2016 issue of DOTmed HealthCare Business News The global defibrillator market is expected to reach $12.9 billion by 2019, according to a MarketsandMarkets report. That’s partly due to newer, technologically- advanced defibrillators, the growing elderly population and the rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) — which are pacemakers that deliver defibrillator therapy — have recently been developed to be MR-compatible. Thousands of patients who were previously unable to undergo MR exams now have the opportunity to do so. However, challenges with the longevity of ICD battery life remain and experts in the field are calling for engineers to develop batteries that can last more than 25 years. Doing so would avoid the complications that patients face during replacement procedures. The external defibrillators haven’t experienced as much advancement as the implantable ones, but they are being used more at sporting events to address the growing sudden cardiac arrest problem among young athletes.