Minneapolis, Minn. – May 4, 2016 – Imricor Medical Systems announced today the enrollment of the first patients in a clinical study to evaluate the Vision-MR Ablation Catheter for the treatment of atrial flutter under real-time MRI guidance. The study is sponsored by the Leipzig Heart Center in Leipzig, Germany. Professor Gerhard Hindricks MD, Head of the Department of Electrophysiology at the heart center, is the principal investigator. This single-center study will enroll up to 35 patients.
“We truly believe that ablating in the MRI adds substantial benefits to our standard procedures,” said Prof. Hindricks. “For example, during one procedure, we were able to visualize with MR an abnormality in the patient’s heart and modify our catheter placement to successfully complete the ablation. In a traditional lab, this would have been a “difficult” procedure and we would not have known why, but with MR, we were able to see the anatomical challenges and tailor the ablation. This is quite exciting.”
Imricor’s Vision-MR catheter, when used with the Advantage-MR EP Recorder/Stimulator System, allows physicians to perform cardiac ablations under MRI guidance. With real-time MRI, physicians can individualize the ablation for each patient’s unique cardiac structure and substrate. In addition, they can assess lesion quality and fill gaps in ablation lines during the initial procedure. Ablations guided by MRI have the potential to improve outcomes and provide safer, more cost-effective treatment – all in an environment that is free of radiation for both the patient and physician.
ABOUT IMRICOR
Imricor is a privately held company that specializes in developing devices that are compatible with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Its MR-enabled products are designed to provide doctors the ability to perform interventional procedures while taking advantage of the soft tissue imaging capabilities of MRI. Imricor also licenses its technology to help make implanted medical devices compatible with MRI.