Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has launched the Sensor-enabled CE Mark for TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter. With the new catheter it will be easier for medical professionals to treat atrial fibrillation more effectively. Atrial fibrillation is a condition where the heart’s upper chambers beat too fast. For Abbott, the Sensor-enabled CE Mark for TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter is just the latest among several approvals that the company has received in its atrial fibrillation portfolio.
“The goal in developing the TactiCath™ Contact Force Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled™ was to provide the most innovative solution for treating atrial fibrillation,” the medical director of the electrophysiology business at Abbott, Srijoy Mahapatra, said.
Heart modelling
When the Sensor-enabled CE Mark for TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter and EnSite Precision, a cardiac mapping system are integrated, healthcare specialists are better able to make use of magnetic technologies and dual impedance to model the heart more precisely. Additionally, the integrated system assists physicians in determining where to apply pressure when it becomes necessary to create a lesion in the course of a cardiac ablation meant to correct abnormalities in the heart rhythm. And with the sensor-enabled technology, physicians are able to come up with a heart model that is more detailed and in the course of ablation procedures.
Arrhythmia development
The development of arrhythmia occurs when electrical signals which are involved in the regulation of heart rhythms change or get disrupted and consequently resulting in an irregular heartbeat. Patients suffering from atrial fibrillation stand a higher risk of stroke since the condition makes it possible for blood to pool in the heart as a result of the rapid heartbeat. When that happens clots can form and these can then move to the brain causing a stroke.
In order for the heart’s optimal electrical signals to be restored, ablation catheters are used to deliver to the cardiac tissue radio-frequency energy which create lesions or small scars in areas where arrhythmias are generated.
On Wednesday shares of Abbott Laboratories fell by 1.44% to close the day at $43.86 a share.