June 15, 2010 – The first ablation catheter that indicates the contact force of the catheter against the wall of the heart was recently released in Europe. Biotronik partnered with Endosense for the creation of the TactiCath catheter.
The irrigated radio frequency (RF) contact force ablation catheter offers an advance in ablation therapy for patients with cardiac arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation (AF).
“The ability to sense contact force will shift the paradigm of how electrophysiologists plan and execute ablation therapies; the potential for improved patient outcomes is very exciting,” said professor Richard Schilling at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.
A major challenge that physicians face when they treat patients with AF is manipulating the ablation catheter in the highly variable anatomy of the left heart with precisely the right amount of pressure to effectively ablate cardiac tissue without causing damage. The new TactiCath is the first commercially available irrigated force sensing RF ablation catheter that can provide physicians with objective measures of contact force, reliably and in real-time. This technology should improve the efficacy, safety and reproducibility of catheter ablation procedures.
For more information: www.biotronik.com
April 29, 2026 
