Imricor performs first atrial flutter ablation at Swiss hospital

Imricor’s first iCMR ablation procedure has taken place at the Lausanne University Hospital (aka CHUV)
CHUV is Imricor’s first customer site in Switzerland
It is also the third active site of IMR’s VISABL-AFL clinical trial to support FDA approval

Special Report: Imricor Medical Systems has conducted its first case for atrial flutter ablation in the iCMR lab at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in Switzerland.

The CHUV site is Imricor’s (ASX:IMR) first customer site in Switzerland and adds a third site to the company’s VISABL-AFL clinical trial, supporting US FDA approval of Imricor’s products.

CHUV joins Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, USA) and the Cardiovascular Institute of South Paris (France) in enrolling patients for the VISABL-AFL trial.

Considered ‘one of the world’s best hospitals’, CHUV recently completed the construction of a cardiology-owned, dedicated iCMR lab specifically built for IMR’s procedures.

It will be one of Imricor’s European Centres of Excellence, an important partnership whereby physicians from other hospitals can visit and be trained on real-time iCMR cardiac ablations and other future interventions as the number of active sites across Europe continues to grow.

What are ablations?

IMR is leading the new field of real-time iCMR cardiac ablations – that is, cardiac ablations guided by real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), rather than by conventional x-ray fluoroscopy.

iCMR (interventional cardiac magnetic resonance) is the term used to describe such interventional procedures performed in conjunction with MRI with the goal being to provide faster, safer, and more effective treatments of cardiac arrhythmias compared to conventional means.

Imricor is the only company in the world that provides MRI-compatible consumable devices, such as single-use ablation catheters, required to perform cardiac ablations in an iCMR lab.

Benefits of real-time iCMR cardiac ablations are derived from the superior imaging capabilities of MRI compared to x-ray, especially when it comes to imaging the heart and vascular structures, which are largely invisible to x-rays.

Standing on the shoulders of giants

“This was a significant day, we did our first case for atrial flutter ablation in our iCMR lab,” Cardiac MR Centre director professor Juerg Schwitter said.

“It is a fascinating technique, and I am convinced this will become routine clinical care.”

IMR chair and CEO Steve Wadden said the company was fortunate to work with some of the key thought leaders in the field of cardiac MRI and electrophysiology.

“The highly regarded team at the CHUV sit firmly in that camp,” he said.

“We are delighted to have the first dedicated iCMR lab in Switzerland now active as we continue to roll out this important technology.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Imricor Medical Systems, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.