Next week (Sunday 18th & Monday 19th November 2012), Cambridge Design Partnership will be attending the Europe AF conference in London. The company says: "As Cambridge Design Partnership develops breakthrough medical technologies, we find ablation catheters fascinating because real improvements to the lives of patients are within reach, and inspired engineering is pivotal in turning them into reality.
"The race is on to develop technology which achieves first-time clinical success at modest cost, but manufacturers experience lengthy R&D processes which hinder progress. The Europe AF conference is an opportunity to share ideas which can speed up that process.
"Atrial Fibrillation is a major health-care issue which already affects millions of people and is increasing further as populations age. It is now often treated by catheter techniques, thus avoiding highly invasive surgery. A multitude of ablation catheters exist, each offering its own set of advantages and problems.
"The most common type of ablation catheter is a single tip irrigated RF catheter. These devices apply RF energy to create a point lesion inside the heart wall. By joining the dots, a line of lesions is created, most commonly to isolate the pulmonary veins.
"RF catheters are backed by extensive experience, but several issues remain. Top of the list is that around 40% of patients have to return for a second procedure after several months. Reducing this re-work rate is a major driver, not only for electrophysiologists who want to deliver the most successful treatment possible to their patients, but also to healthcare providers who have to control costs in a difficult economic climate. The key to solving this is the ability to generate repeatable, lasting, contiguous lesions.
"Many new technical developments are addressing this challenge. For example, Biosense Webster and Medtronic have launched multi-tip catheters which attempt to isolate the whole vein in just a few ablations while other companies are backing new energy sources such as cryo or laser. Another group again is exploring the benefits of sensory feedback, such as contact force. Nonetheless, challenges remain: one big difficulty is how to conform these catheters to variable shaped anatomies and ensure consistent and continuous contact around the whole device.
"There is intense competition to prevail in this market, and the race is very much on for a catheter that is easy to control and delivers reliable results. Companies are facing an increasing need for creative engineering that is focused, high quality and delivers quick results. The message from the users is clear: new technologies have to offer clear benefits for lesion formation at existing costs.
"We come across three common difficulties faced by manufacturers striving for success. First, internal teams can be occupied with urgent matters, which means that R&D programmes move forward at a slow pace. Second, a diversity of peripheral components are usually required and may fall outside the core skill set of the R&D group. This can result in a delay in their consideration which impacts on product quality. Third, additional fresh thinking from creative engineers and scientists may be needed to overcome technical obstacles.
"Next week’s Europe AF conference in London promises to feature prominently the new treatments and techniques that are emerging. No doubt this will lead to much lively debate over the pros and cons of each technology, and to seed ideas for the next generation.
"If you are interested in meeting at the conference to speak to us about development of next generation technology, please contact me at [email protected] "
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