King’s College London researchers have prototyped a new steerable cardiac ablation catheter technology and worked with Cambridge Design Partnership (Cambridge, UK) to develop it into a device that’s ready for testing.
The catheter relies on helical interlocking tubes within its body to flex at different angles and around various spots near the distal tip. This would give the clinician unprecedented ability to navigate through the vasculature and within the heart to reach ablation targets without too much repetitive poking.
Here’s a short video of the latest iteration of the catheter, which is expected to go from bench-top to clinical trials in the next few years:
