The first three persistent atrial fibrillation patients have been treated using Adagio’s cryolinear ablation technology. This follows the successful treatment of over 25 arrhythmia patients in the company’s CryoCure clinical trial.
The Adagio cryolinear ablation technology is designed to enable the electrophysiologist to safely create transmural lesions. These lesions include the pulmonary vein antra and the left atrial roof and floor lines, also referred to as a “box” ablation, and the cavo-tricuspid isthmus, as was demonstrated in the recent cases. The Adagio technology is designed to create long, continuous lesions within seconds, which may also provide the opportunity to treat severely dilated hearts.
“I am pleased to work with this new technology and the simplicity it brings to the treatment of arrhythmias,” says Tom de Potter, associate director, Cardiovascular Center Department of Cardiology, Electrophysiology Section at OLV Hospital, in Aalst, Belgium. “A unique characteristic of the Adagio catheter is its long, flexible, circular element allowing pulmonary vein isolation at the antrum, thereby reducing the risk of phrenic nerve damage and pulmonary vein stenosis. The same catheter is placed on the posterior wall to concurrently create linear roof and floor lesions, for complete box isolation.”
“I am excited about being involved in this trial,” says Lucas VA Boersma, St Antonius Ziekenhuis, Department of Cardiology, Nieuwegein, Netherlands. “In addition to giving the electrophysiologist a better tool for making continuous, linear lesions, Adagio’s technology may allow us to significantly reduce procedure time. In most cases, pulmonary vein isolation can be achieved in less than one minute with a single application.”
James L Cox, professor of Surgery and surgical director of the Center for Heart Rhythm Disorders at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern University in Chicago, performed the first surgical “Cox maze” procedure 30 years ago at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis. “One of the key reasons for the clinical success of the ‘maze’ surgical procedure has been the ability to perform continuous, linear, transmural ablations. I am excited about the development of endocardial linear ablation catheters that will become important tools for the electrophysiologists to achieve better outcomes,” says Cox.
