How does your lab handle ablation?

Ablation technology remains a fast-growing field of electrophysiology. In this special supplement, EP Lab Digest features the latest products and techniques in ablation therapy:

• In the first article, Dr. Pierre Jais and colleagues from the Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévêque in Bordeaux-Pessac, France, evaluated the role of intracardiac echocardiography to guide the deployment of linear lesions in the left atrium using an irrigated-tip catheter for AF ablation. They found that using ICE allowed them to modify the placement of linear lesions for left isthmus ablation by providing real-time visualization of the ablation catheter.

• In our second article, Biosense Webster, Inc. interviews Dr. Kalyanam Shivkumar, Director of the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center in Los Angeles, California, about the clinical implications of the NAVISTAR™ DS 8 mm Tip Navigation and Ablation Catheter. This catheter is the first to be specifically designed to treat atrial flutter.

• From the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Ontario, Canada, Dr. Martin Green describes the new cryocatheters that are being used in the treatment of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. He writes that the cryotherapy provides both the safety and efficacy that are necessary when performing an ablation in a patient with AVNRT.

• Our next author, Dr. Scott L. Beau, from the Little Rock Cardiology Clinic in Little Rock, Arkansas, provides a case report in which he places a biventricular lead in the coronary sinus of a 57-year-old patient using a steerable catheter. He states that current tools and techniques available for coronary sinus access are safe and reliable.

• Dr. Rehan Mahmud from the Michigan CardioVascular Institute, St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan reports on the initial results from the clinical trial of the Irvine Biomedical Inc. RF ablation system. He finds that this system offers new technological enhancements, is user-friendly, and also is a viable alternative for the treatment of SVT.

• In the last article, Dr. Larry Chinitz and EP lab staff from the NYU School of Medicine in New York write on their experience using the “Bench to Bedside” approach for treating atrial fibrillation in the EP lab. In this approach, the EP team takes over the patient’s case completely for a 1- to 2-month period, which helps staff stay on the cutting edge of science.

It is our hope that some of the products and techniques presented in this supplement will help benefit your lab. We are pleased to provide you with this opportunity to better decide which ablation options work best.