S3 E1 - How Abbott built AVEIR™ DR pacemakers to be smaller, leadless, and able to talk with each other

AbbottTalks launches Season 3 with a fresh new video presence, a new co-host, and several new powerful conversations from Abbott's senior leaders.

Host Tom Salemi and new co-host Kayleen Brown welcome Vish Charan, divisional vice president of product development for Abbott's Cardiac Rhythm Management, to explore the engineering evolution of the pacemaker—and where it’s headed next.

Charan reflects on the remarkable transformation of pacemakers from large, wired implants to compact, leadless systems that dramatically improve patient outcomes. He details Abbott’s development of the AVEIR™ DR dual chamber leadless pacemaker system, the first of its kind to enable synchronized communication between the atrium and ventricle without leads, using Abbott’s proprietary i2i™ (implant-to-implant) technology.

The conversation dives deep into conduction system pacing, modular upgrades, and how Abbott is shaping the future of cardiac care for millions of patients. The episode closes with a powerful story of a former professional surfer whose life was transformed by Abbott’s innovation—an example of technology enabling patients to reclaim their lives.

Thank you to FPT Americas for sponsoring this episode of AbbottTalks. For more information on how FPT works with medical device companies, visit https://fptsoftware.com/

Thank you for listening to the AbbottTalks Podcast. To subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player, click here: https://abbotttalks.castos.com/subscribe.

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Abbott Talks: The Company's Innovation
• (00:00:37) - Abbott Talks: Season 3
• (00:01:38) - Fooled by Pacemakers
• (00:02:54) - An Expert on Pacemakers
• (00:04:46) - In the Elevator With Dr. Tom Cochrane
• (00:05:44) - The role of engineers in heart surgery
• (00:11:05) - What is a Pacemaker? (
• (00:17:38) - Lead-free Pacemakers vs Traditional Devices
• (00:20:25) - Abbott Talks: FPT Americas
• (00:21:26) - FPT Software's role in the medical device industry
• (00:22:40) - FPT Software: Small Enough to Care, Big Enough to Dare
• (00:24:46) - A Pacemaker with a Lead Wire
• (00:31:44) - Abbott Pacemaker: Better than a pacemaker?
• (00:33:50) - What is Cardiac Cardiac Pacing?
• (00:37:04) - Vietnam's IT Outsourcing
• (00:38:59) - Has Nearshore Expansion Impact Your Geographical Capacity?
• (00:40:13) - How Artificial Intelligence is Affecting FPT
• (00:41:54) - How has AI impacted the medical industry?
• (00:43:34) - Abbott Talks
• (00:44:23) - Heart failure with a pacemaker
• (00:47:37) - Abbott's Leadless Pacemaker
• (00:51:42) - One of Us: The Pacemaker Experience
• (00:55:24) - Abbott Talk: Leadless Pacemakers and Other Future
• (00:58:50) - Vishal on Avatars
• (01:00:08) - Kayleen Brown on Abbott Talk's 2nd Anniversary
• (01:00:47) - The Best in Medical Device Innovation
• (01:02:22) - Abbott Talk: Medtech Stories, Season 3