Following the announcement that Medtronic’s Linq II cardiac monitor received both FDA clearance in the US and a European CE Mark;

Ashley Young, Medical Device Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view on the news:

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a marked increase in demand for devices and procedures that enable remote monitoring of patients, which minimizes visits to and reduces burden on healthcare facilities. The latest example of this trend is the FDA and European regulatory’s clearance of Medtronic’s Linq II cardiac monitor device. With its ability to be remotely controlled, the Linq II allows a physician to change settings from a distance without the patient visiting the office.

“This is not the first cardiac monitor device that boasts remote capabilities to receive regulatory approval in the recent weeks – Boston Scientific’s Lux-Dx cardiac monitor for example. Both device approvals will likely boost the market value for implantable loop recorders, which GlobalData estimated to be just over $1bn globally in 2019.

“The implantable loop recorder market was previously predicted to grow only modestly in the forecast period due to other techniques available for the detection and diagnosis of arrhythmias. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes more and more of these devices towards remote programming, the market will likely experience a faster growth in the coming years.”