nContact, a developer of epicardial ablation devices and techniques, has received CE mark approval for its Epi-Sense Guided Coagulation Device with VisiTrax to treat cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (AF).
EPi-Sense features epicardial sensing electrodes which aids both electrophysiologists (EP) and cardiothoracic surgeons to map and navigate the epicardium and locate areas for linear epicardial ablation.
EPi-Sense further enhances the advantages of the Convergent Procedure, a closed chest, endoscopic technique enabled by nContact’s NumerisCoagulation System with Visitrax.
The primary procedure advantages include visible access to the posterior of the atrium through a trans-diaphragmatic pericardial window and the ability to create visible, non-conductive, linear lesions on a beating heart.
University Medical Center Department of Cardiovascular Surgery chief Borut Gersak said this technology in combination with the company’s closed chest cardiac access, or sub-thoracic, totalendoscopic (Subtle) approach, is obsoleting invasive bi-lateral thorascopic technologies, which are poorly designed for true minimally invasive ablation procedures.
University of North Carolina Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing director Paul Mounsey said soon, European studies will be underway that use the EPi-Sense to access the ventricle.