Wasn’t aware of that. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice in ICD brands when I had to have one implanted for a genetic condition.
Seeing what the two I have gone through cost, I don’t know how they can be struggling financially. $75K a piece, for what is nothing more than a cell phone. Most of it is battery.
I'll suggest that you are looking at the cost to you or your insurer after several markups.
Fully-burdened, 1990 costs for a dual-chamber IPG ran ca $120. Two leads at about $150 ea, depending on electrode material (more if a biological sensor parameter were included.) Then add literature, sterile packaging, etc. The cost for the system to a clinic/hospital was ca $5k.
The final cost to a patient for the system - including cath lab/OR and physicians’ fees, was typically $15k.
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R&D development times often exceeded 2 years involving teams of 20-30 people. Then came FDA submissions and clinical trials - typically another 12 to 18 months waiting for ‘approval’
There is considerably more than cell-phone technology inside these devices. Nor is the battery chemistry trivial.
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And as usual, I'll ‘hang up’ and ignore the posts from the hams who tell me how they really work! Freep-mail me and I can recommend a decent book describing the industry as it was through about 2000.
If you saw the red tape they have to go through to get a device approved and then to manufacture it, you would understand the $75K cost.