Magnetic irrigated catheter procedures reach 2500

20 August 2009

Stereotaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: STXS) has announced that clinicians have performed more than 2,500 procedures with the magnetic irrigated catheter since its commercial release. The clinical performance of the catheter in these cases has been exceptional, it says. The major adverse cardiac event rate for magnetic procedures remains at 0.1%

"The irrigated tip is a great asset for creating deep lesions in patients with ventricular tachycardias in the setting of structural heart disease," said Dr Raul Weiss, associate professor of medicine at The Ohio State University and an electrophysiologist at the Ross Heart Hospital in Columbus.

"The Thermocool magnetic catheter creates deeper lesions because the catheter remains in contact with the beating heart. The irrigation allows me to deliver more energy, creating a larger lesion. You don't have to push on the catheter like you do with a manual catheter, so the likelihood of perforation, I think, is significantly reduced."

Overall, the Niobe Remote Magnetic Navigation System has been utilized in nearly 23,000 cases worldwide. These include ablations of a wide variety of cardiac arrhythmias in all four chambers of the heart and across a broad spectrum of patients ranging from pediatric to geriatric.

Included in the Niobe clinical experience are several very compelling procedures in patients with congenital heart defects and patients with peripheral vascular occlusive disease. Altogether this represents the broadest range of cardiovascular applications achieved with any commercial remote magnetic, robotic or mechanical navigation system presently in the marketplace.

"The addition of the magnetic irrigated catheter has broadened the capabilities of the Stereotaxis system, further demonstrating the potential of our remote magnetic navigation technology as a platform for all manner of cardiac and vascular interventions," said Michael P. Kaminski, Stereotaxis President and CEO.

"Stereotaxis labs are quickly becoming the preferred labs for complex cases at centres across the globe. These include a growing number of community hospitals, which are using our advanced technology to build robust electrophysiology practices. With the diverse group of clinicians who now routinely use our Niobe system, we are particularly delighted that the system has maintained the safety profile for which it has become well known."

The core components of the Stereotaxis system have received regulatory clearance in the US, Europe, Canada and elsewhere.

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