Medtronic has completed the 12-month follow up in the STOP-AF (Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation) clinical trial evaluating the cryoballoon catheter technology designed to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation – the Medtronic Arctic Front CryoAblation Catheter System. The system is approved for use in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong and is under investigational use in the US.
Kevin Wheelan, chief of staff at Baylor Heart and Vascular in Dallas and investigator in the STOP-AF trial, said: “This catheter is designed to allow physicians to more efficiently and easily ablate than with a single tip ablation procedure. In this trial, the cryoballoon’s stability simplified the process for these types of cardiac ablation procedures.”
Reggie Groves, vice president and general manager of AF Solutions at Medtronic, said: “Arctic Front is one of the tools in Medtronic’s growing AF Solutions portfolio. Our goal is to develop and deliver breakthrough therapies that help physicians to effectively treat AF patients faster, safer, easier, and with more predictable procedure times.”
Medtronic recently acquired CryoCath and Ablation Frontiers, which along with its existing EP Systems diagnostic and RF ablation catheters, collectively form Medtronic’s AF Solutions division.
