Healthcare Industry News: RF Generator
News Release - March 27, 2008
New Multi-Electrode Ablation Catheters and RF Generator Featured at American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions
Data from European Study for Chronic Atrial Fibrillation Presented inPoster Session
CARLSBAD, California, March 27 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Ablation Frontiers, Inc., a privately held medical device company, announced today that a poster at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Sessions in Chicago would feature results from a study using its Cardiac Ablation System. The poster presentation (1008-94) was also recently published as a "Cardiac Arrhythmias" abstract in the March supplement to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which is distributed to cardiologists globally. The poster will be on display at the ACC Scientific Sessions on Sunday, March 30th.
"This System was designed to make atrial fibrillation ablation procedures safe and efficacious, while reducing procedure time and complexity," stated Dr. Andrew Grace of Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom. "We will be able to treat all types of atrial fibrillation with this novel technology, including paroxysmal, persistent, and chronic." Dr. Grace, one of the study investigators and a co-author of the poster, is a practicing cardiologist at the UK's largest cardiothoracic hospital. Dr. Grace added, "Since the system is still fairly new, long-term results continue to be evaluated. We are pleased to be able to present the first published data for this system at the ACC."
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common rhythm disorder, in which the heart's upper chamber beats in a rapid, chaotic manner often causing the body's heart rate to be very fast. A patient is often left with symptoms of tiredness, weakness, and lightheadedness. The risk of stroke is much higher in this population. Until recently, treatment has been with drug therapy designed to lower the heart rate and blood thinners for stroke prevention. Over the last 15 years, pioneering work has led researchers to now treat the disease by identifying the cardiac cellular origin, delivering energy through a catheter to destroy that portion of heart tissue thus changing the electrical pathways causing the arrhythmia. Known as AF ablation, it is anticipated that 50,000 procedures will be performed in the United States this year.
A current guidance document from the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has estimated that ablation procedures can prevent recurrence of atrial fibrillation in up to 80 percent and reduce mortality by more than 50 percent in this patient population.
While AF ablation procedures can be curative and appear quite promising, current technology makes it time-consuming, tedious, and difficult to perform for even the most skilled and experienced of operators.
"Despite the great promise of ablation therapy, the technical challenges of positioning the catheter in a safe and reliable manner have been quite daunting," commented Keegan Harper, Chief Executive Office of Ablation Frontiers. "Conventional methods have made the procedure possible, but not repeatable and available to all clinics. We believe our novel multi-electrode catheters and duty-cycled radiofrequency generator will bring proven safety and efficacy benefits to many more patients around the world."
About Ablation Frontiers
Ablation Frontiers is an emerging, venture-backed medical device company based in Carlsbad, California. The company received US$21.8 million Series C financing in June 2007, led by the Novartis Venture Fund, to drive clinical development and market expansion for their novel Cardiac Ablation System. Founded in 2004, the company is focused on developing and commercializing innovative products for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. In late 2006, Ablation Frontiers received the CE Mark to begin marketing in the European Union with its portfolio of anatomical-based catheters and a multi-channel RF Generator. To learn more about the company, visit www.ablationfrontiers.com .
Web site: http://www.ablationfrontiers.com
Source: Ablation Frontiers
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