A life-saving success story
The problem
Atrioesphageal fistula (AEF) is a serious complication of RF ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) with a mortality rate as high as 80%
The Medical Device: EnsoETM
A novel cooling device, developed by American start-up, Attune Medical, has been shown to significantly reduce thermal injury, with no AEFs yet encountered after thousands of treatments worldwide.
The role of In Silico SE
- We virtually evaluated the effectiveness of the device to protect the esophagus during cardiac RF ablation
- The results confirmed an agreement of greater than 95% with available clinical data
- The validated model is now a predictive tool that allows optimizing the device
Derived Scientific Production
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Proactive Esophageal Cooling Protects Against Thermal Insults During High-Power Short-Duration Radiofrequency Ablation
- Abstract 10771: Avoidance of Lethal Isotherm Formation in Esophageal Tissue with an Active Cooling Device Under High-Power, Short-Duration Ablation
- November 2021, Conference: AHA Scientific Sessions 2021, DOI: 10.1161/circ.144.suppl_1.10771
- Full Manuscript under peer-review process
Future Work & Opportunities
- Evaluate different biomaterials
- Identify which ablation setups would be more convenient to be established clinically
- Evaluate different device wall thicknesses
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the device in other termal management treatments
