Aug. 31, 2026 — At the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Abbott announced new late-breaking 12-month data from the FlexPulse Global IDE study that show favorable safety and effectiveness outcomes for its investigational TactiFlex Duo Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled to treat patients with challenging cases of atrial fibrillation (AFib). The results were simultaneously published in EP Europace.
TactiFlex Duo is a dual-energy catheter designed to give physicians more flexibility when treating AFib. The investigational technology offers both pulsed field ablation (PFA) and radiofrequency (RF) energy approaches to treatment, which can help a physician tailor therapy to a patient's individual needs. Abbott’s EnSite X EP System also provides physicians with real-time feedback as an integrated mapping solution with the PFA Index (PI), a tool designed to assess lesion formation during ablation with TactiFlex Duo. Both PFA and RF are used to create therapeutic lesions, or small areas of scar tissue, that block the abnormal electrical signals causing an irregular heartbeat while helping minimize the impact on surrounding healthy tissue. Successfully treating these areas can help restore the heart’s normal rhythm and improve outcomes for patients living with AFib.
Positive Results Support Duo Ablation Catheter
The 12-month data presented at ESC showed positive outcomes in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm episodes that come and go).
Key findings from the FlexPulse IDE late-breaker include:
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A majority (92.6%) of patients did not have a documented recurrence of AFib, atrial flutter, or atrial tachycardia during follow-up when assessed using standard-of-care monitoring.
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In protocol-driven monitoring, which follows more rigorous, heart rhythm assessments throughout the study, (77.4%) of patients experienced no documented recurrence of AFib, atrial flutter, or atrial tachycardia during follow-up.
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The study met its primary effectiveness endpoint, with 74.6% of patients remaining free from documented arrhythmias, medication changes, or repeat procedures.
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The study reported a consistently high patient safety profile (98.3%) with no major safety events.
"As physicians, we're looking for technologies that help us confidently deliver the best possible outcomes for our patients, not just at the time of the procedure, but for years afterward," said Ayman Hussein, M.D., Director of the Atrial Fibrillation Center and Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology Research at Cleveland Clinic, who presented the late-breaking FlexPulse IDE data at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. "The evidence behind this device helps increase confidence in ablation therapy and hopefully support lasting outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation."
The FlexPulse IDE study was designed to secure U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the TactiFlex Duo. The catheter received CE Mark in Europe earlier this year.
August 26, 2026 
