An innovative catheter developed by BTL Industries is set to revolutionize the treatment of heart arrhythmia, a condition affecting approximately 10% of Europeans over 60.
Petr Neužil, Head of Cardiology at Na Homolce Hospital, notes the varied symptoms of arrhythmia, ranging from asymptomatic cases to palpitations, breathlessness, and weakness. Current treatments involve ablations using catheters inserted into blood vessels and guided to the heart, where heat or cold energy creates scars to insulate electrical signals causing irregular beats.
Czech hospitals face capacity limitations, treating only about 10,000 patients annually, with waiting lists up to 10 months. This new catheter aims to address these issues by covering unhealthy tissue more accurately with single, shorter energy pulses, thereby speeding up the process, improving recovery, and reducing waiting times.
"You spend less time with the catheter. You have a single shot. You lessen the applications, you lessen the manipulations and you lessen the tools you need to get inside," Neužil stated.
The catheter and its control unit are designed by BTL Industries, a global healthcare device manufacturer. Martin Hanuliak, Head of Product Management, claims the new device can reduce ablation time from three hours to just 15 minutes with a "single shot for the whole area all at once." He emphasized the procedure's enhanced safety due to microsecond pulses that target specific heart tissue, allowing faster healing.
Jiří Dašek, product manager, highlighted the catheter's complexity, featuring parts smaller than one millimeter and a unique moving mechanism, a significant advancement over previous fixed, straight catheters.
Planned for EU manufacturing post-approval, the device is part of BTL Industries' drive for innovation, essential for their consistent growth. Clinical studies are underway, with a potential EU market release by early 2028.