Press Releases and Statements

BIOTRONIK announced today that it has received CE approval for the Selectra 3D implant tools to include left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) in addition to His-bundle pacing (HBP). Commonly referred to as conduction system pacing (CSP) these two approaches have emerged as a physiologic pacing alternative to avoid dyssynchronous contraction of the heart which can induce various negative long-term effects for patients. 1-3 Approved in 2021 for HBP, Selectra 3D’s safety and effectiveness for CSP has been shown in over 10 studies with more than 1,000 patients. In the multi-center Belgium

BIOTRONIK announces the FDA 510(k) clearance and CE mark of its Oscar ® ( One Solution: Cross. Adjust. Restore) multifunctional peripheral catheter. Physicians in the U.S. have already used the novel device in more than 70 cases. As indicated per Instructions for Use, Oscar is intended for percutaneous transluminal interventions in the peripheral vasculature. The device was developed to provide support during access into and to dilate stenoses in femoral, popliteal and infrapopliteal arteries. The Oscar peripheral multifunctional catheter is comprised of three user-adjustable components: The

The discovery of a high-severity vulnerability known as Log4Shell was disclosed publicly on December 9, 2021, while a related lower-severity vulnerability was disclosed on December 14, 2021. These vulnerabilities are present in a software library used by many servers worldwide (see Background for details). In light of this recent discovery, BIOTRONIK has carefully analyzed all of its provided services. The analysis concluded that the conditions for exploitation of the Log4Shell vulnerability and the related CVE-2021-45046 and CVE-2021-45105 vulnerabilities do not exist in any of BIOTRONIK’s

The most recent series of Apple iPhones include a stronger magnetic array than previous models. A recent study 1 published in the HeartRhythm Journal reported that therapy was suspended when an iPhone 12 was brought into close contact with specific implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) devices. After further investigation, BIOTRONIK has concluded that there is no additional risk and our advice concerning potential interference from this and former iPhone models remains unchanged. We continue to advise patients implanted with BIOTRONIK cardiac devices to maintain the recommended distance

CardioMessenger devices form an essential part of BIOTRONIK’s remote monitoring system, enabling the secure transmission of critical patient and device data to the treating physician. As the company that pioneered remote monitoring, we have taken cybersecurity design seriously since 2001. It is integrated into our quality management system, all relevant business processes and prioritized at every step of the product life cycle. Our cardiac implants do not accept programming modifications or commands via any form of long-distance communication. By design, it is technically impossible to

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we are conscious of the enormous strain that you are all under. We share your concerns about the spread of the virus and the disruption it is causing globally. We are doing what we can to help minimize this disruption and to provide support so that you can focus on the critical task of saving lives. To this end, we would like to inform you of the following:

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a Safety Communication regarding a family of cybersecurity vulnerabilities known as SweynTooth, which may introduce risks for certain medical devices that use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless communication technology. If exploited, these vulnerabilities can allow unauthorized users to potentially cause a device to stop working, stop it from working correctly and/or bypass security to access certain device functions. The FDA has said it is not aware of any confirmed adverse events related to these vulnerabilities although software to exploit

On October 1, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Safety Communication regarding a set of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, referred to as “Urgent/11” that — if exploited by a remote attacker — may introduce risks for medical devices and hospital networks. According to the communication: “These vulnerabilities may allow anyone to remotely take control of the medical device and change its function, cause denial of service, or cause information leaks or logical flaws, which may prevent device function.” These vulnerabilities exist in a third-party software component known as IPnet

The work ‘Security Testing of the Pacemaker Ecosystem’ was recently published as a master’s thesis, authored by Mr. Anders Been Wilhelmsen and Mr. Eivind Skjelmo Kristiansen. This publication investigates the state of cybersecurity of BIOTRONIK’s ICS 3000 – a programmer for BIOTRONIK implantable cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators and monitors that is used by healthcare professionals during the implantation procedure and follow-ups. ICS 3000 programmers were distributed between 2001 and 2012. In the publication, the authors report about several cybersecurity weaknesses such as: The central

The Department of Homeland Security and the US FDA have issued a Medical Advisory and Safety Communication respectively describing two types of cybersecurity vulnerabilities affecting multiple Medtronic devices that utilize the Conexus telemetry protocol. BIOTRONIK utilizes substantially different protocols for both the clinical and the home environment. Moreover, by design, the remote communication system via BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring® does not have the functionality to transmit or alter therapeutic commands to the implant.

On October 11, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Safety Communication regarding cybersecurity updates affecting Medtronic implantable cardiac device programmers, based on an NCCIC Advisory. 1 According to the FDA’s communication, Medtronic is issuing a software update to address a safety risk caused by cybersecurity vulnerabilities associated with the internet connection in two models of programmers used to download software from the manufacturer’s software distribution network (SDN). Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities would allow an adversary to influence this

On August 9, WIRED magazine reported that researchers discovered cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the way pacemaker programmers connected to the software delivery network of a specified manufacturer. The researchers claim that “digital code signing”—the cryptographic validation of the legitimacy and integrity of software—is lacking in the manufacturer’s infrastructure, allowing an attacker to potentially take control of device programmers through malicious updates that can subsequently be spread to implanted pacemakers. 1 None of BIOTRONIK’s devices, programmers or networks are affected by