Geneva-based Endosense’s proprietary contact force technology improves efficacy and safety of catheter ablation for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, according to new study data released last week at the annual Heart Rhythm Society meeting.
Endosense pioneered the use of contact force measurement in catheter ablation with the development of the TactiCath, the first force-sensing ablation catheter to give physicians a real-time, objective measure of contact force during the catheter ablation procedure. In the U.S., TactiCath is limited to investigational use.
Key data unveiled last week showed that combining three contact force parameters, including Endosense’s Contact Force (CF); Force Time Integral (FTI); and Lesion Index (LSI), helped improve durability of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), Endosense noted in a press release.
Contact force guidelines were developed from two previous Endosense studies: TOCCATA, a 12-month study completed in 2010, which found that clinical outcomes improve with CF above a certain level, and EFFICAS I post-market clinical trial, which established a minimum FTI per individual ablation lesion.
"The data has clearly demonstrated the importance of contact force in achieving durable pulmonary vein isolation following the catheter ablation treatment of PAF," abstract co-author Dr. Dipen Shah, Professor of Cardiology at the University Hospital Geneva, said in a press statement. "I believe these new CF guidelines have great potential to improve clinical practice and, ultimately, lead to better patient outcomes."
The data about several of Endosense’s contact force parameters, including its most recently developed Lesion Index (LSI), also proved the company’s TactiCath ablation catheter can detect excessive contact force during robotic catheter navigation, according to Endosense.
Featured in Endosense’s new TactiCath Quartz device, LSI is a sophisticated algorithm that combines radiofrequency power, ablation time and contact force applied to cardiac tissue in order to estimate lesion formation in real time, the company claims.
"Endosense has made significant strides since demonstrating the correlation between contact force and the durability of PVI for the treatment of PAF," Endosense CEO Jan Keltjens said in a press statement. "In addition to establishing contact force guidelines, we have found that the long-term success of PVI is greatest when minimum CF is combined with minimum FTI and LSI parameters."
