Abbott and GE Healthcare today announced an agreement that will bring real-time, patient-specific data about the heart’s electrical activity to cardiac electrophysiology labs around the world to speed up the diagnosis of the sources of atrial fibrillation and other heart rhythm disorders.
The integration of electrogram signal data from GE’s CardioLab electrophysiology recording system into Abbott’s RhythmView mapping software will allow doctors to use instantaneous electrical data of a person’s heart to identify the sources of atrial fibrillation. By providing patient-specific diagnostics based on each person’s unique physiology, this integrated system transforms current treatment approaches, which primarily rely on a one-size-fits-all anatomical approach.
“At Abbott, we are excited about collaborating with GE to help doctors more quickly diagnose the source of heart rhythm disorders with innovative technologies that combine the expertise and heritage of each company in improving patient care,” said Mike Pederson, divisional vice president, electrophysiology, Abbott.
Abbott says that its mapping software, or rotor identification system, helps physicians identify and target the specific areas of a person’s heart that are perpetuating atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder. Abbott entered the catheter-based electrophysiology market last year through the acquisition of Topera.
A press release states that GE Healthcare’s CardioLab helps simplify the electrophysiology practice and streamline the workflow in diagnosis and treatment of complex cardiac cases. “Determining the source of heart arrhythmia disorders requires assistance from intuitive, accurate, and reliable equipment,” said David Tolan, global product manager, electrophysiology, GE Healthcare. “By leveraging the existing capabilities of GE’s CardioLab to extract and send saved data to the RhythmView System, doctors have a comprehensive tool to help give them the confidence to quickly diagnose the source of heart rhythm disorders, help improve outcomes and increase patient satisfaction.”
