April 10, 2013 — CardioFocus Inc. announced that as of late 2012, more than 1,000 clinical cases have been performed worldwide using the HeartLight technology. The company hosted an expert symposium to review the clinical application of HeartLight and key observations made during the first 1,000 cases in January.
Prof. Karl-Heinz Kuck, M.D. of Asklepios Klinik St. Georg, Hamburg, Germany, and co-chair of the symposium, said, "Our clinical experience has demonstrated that the HeartLight technology possesses unique capabilities for the treatment of AF. Notably, it allows physicians the ability to directly see the tissue to be ablated, and offers a laser energy source to facilitate the creation of durable lesions irrespective of contact force. My colleagues and I have had the opportunity to evaluate its promising clinical impact, collect and analyze the data, and, now, further refine our technique to give patients the best chance of achieving freedom from AF."
Presentations focused on topics including techniques for utilizing the endoscopically-guided ablation system, the desired location of pulmonary vein isolation and the impact of HeartLight laser energy titration on achieving durable results. There was also a discussion of clinical results obtained using HeartLight in comparison to systems using alternative energy sources. In addition to Kuck, the event was co-chaired by Andrea Natale, M.D. of Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, and Vivek Y. Reddy, M.D., of Mt. Sinai University Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
HeartLight is the first catheter ablation system to incorporate an endoscope, a laser energy source and a compliant balloon catheter to enable direct visualization of the beating heart during catheter ablation. The system is CE marked and clinically available in Europe and Australia. In the United States, it is investigational and currently the focus of an ongoing multi-center pivotal trial.
For more information, please visit www.CardioFocus.com
