€5.1m project for novel catheter to treat atrial fibrillation

VistaMed, a Freudenberg Medical company and CDMO for complex extrusions, finished catheters, and medical devices for minimally invasive applications, is part of a team that has been awarded €5.1 million over a three-year period for a project that aims to provide the first catheter to deliver direct 3D, intraprocedural analysis of the success of cardiac ablation, in the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation or AFib is an irregular heartbeat or cardiac arrhythmia which can lead to blood clots, stroke, and heart failure. First procedure success rates for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardiac ablation can be as low as 50% and OneProjects aims to increase this significantly. ‘VERAFEYE’ will be able to provide 4D cardiac imaging for navigation and therapy planning as well as confirm to clinicians where the lesions are being created and if they are complete.

The funding for this project is sponsored by the Irish government through the Disruptive Technology & Innovation Fund (DTIF) which supports innovation in life sciences among other industries. A consortium of three partners were awarded the grant, led by the medical device company, OneProjects with the Tyndall National Institute and VistaMed / Freudenberg Medical.  

Patrick Mulholland, managing director at VistaMed, said: "Today, more than 38 million people suffer from AFib globally with 4.5 million new cases per year. The project goal is to reduce the enormous burden AFib puts on healthcare systems globally and the team will leverage the expertise of each partner to deliver a next-generation platform to enable software-defined and data-driven medical imaging. The resulting platform technology will achieve better patient outcomes treating millions of people worldwide who suffer with cardiac arrhythmias.”