New a-fib procedures are coming out constantly. The FDA recently approved a new one: the Thermacool Smarttouch ablation catheter.
This procedure is important because it lets doctors measure the amount of “contact force” that’s taking place during a catheter procedure. This is important because if a doctor applies too much force to the heart wall while performing the ablation they can do additional damage to the heart. This additional damage can have a big impact on whether the patient will need a second ablation to see a long-term improvement in the a-fib condition.
“Data from the SMART-AF Trial demonstrated that consistent and stable application of contact force has a significant impact on patient outcomes. The use of contact force-sensing technology has emerged as a critical tool in delivering optimal outcomes in the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation and represents a major advancement for the clinical community.”
The manufacturers are Medtronic, Boston Scientific, and St. Jude Medical.
You can actually watch a web conference of the “Smart AF” Trial here. The webcast takes about 15 minutes and is a little bit dry, but it will take you through every single part of the most important study surrounding this new technology.
Personally, if a doctor is going to have to get inside of my body I want him or her to have every tool at his or her disposal to ensure that there’s no additional damage. So I really welcome this development, and am looking forward to seeing which hospitals start offering it.
7/21/14 Updates: In this article on the McKinney Courier-Gazette website, Dr. Andrew Wesley Owens of North Texas Arrhythmia was quoted as saying,
“It’s something a lot of heart rhythm specialists call the Holy Grail of ablation.”
Here is a forum post from someone that had a successful Thermocool ablation done in October 2012 when this technique was part of a study and not approved by the FDA yet.
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