CVRx Barostim System Approved for Use with MRIs

Minneapolis, Minn.-based CVRx has received the FDA’s approval of use of its Barostim neuromodulation device for patients receiving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

The system, which stimulates baroreceptors — natural sensors in the body that tell the nervous system how to regulate heart, kidney and vascular function — in heart failure patients, now includes instructions to allow for safe MRI scans of the head and lower extremities, so that heart failure patients who have the device implanted have more diagnostic options.

All Barostim patients, including those already receiving therapy from the device, can safely receive a standard 1.5T MRI when the proper conditions are met, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company said.