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Baptist surgeons use new catheter — Device directs radio frequencies to heart, prevents irregular beat

Baptist Memorial Hospital was among three hospitals chosen to take a newly approved catheter through its maiden surgery in the United States.

In a three-hour procedure on Jan. 5, cardiologists treated a patient for cardiac arrhythmia, using the catheter to direct radio frequencies to the heart.

A current, delivered through the catheter tip, burned the heart tissue to prevent electrical impulses from traveling through the tissue and causing the irregular heart beat, which occurs with cardiac arrhythmia.

“It went perfectly,” said Dr. David Lan, with Memphis Heart Clinic, one of doctors who conducted the surgery. “Other procedures are already scheduled. In the future we hope this procedure will become routine, as it is in other countries.”

Drs. Paul Hess and Eric Johnson also performed the surgery.

The Celsius Diagnostic and Ablation Catheter, developed by Stereotaxis and Biosense Webster, is magnetized and used with a computer-controlled magnetic field, which allows doctors to remotely maneuver the catheter through veins or arteries to a precise point in the heart. The procedure requires only a small incision.

It has been in use in Europe since March 2005 but was approved for use in the United States only in December.

The precise control of magnetic navigation for catheters is a fundamental improvement over the existing practice in which physicians manually steer devices that are difficult to control, said Bevil Hogg, president and chief executive of St. Louis-based Stereotaxis.

“We firmly believe that Stereotaxis has the potential to become the new standard of care for both routine and highly complex … cardiac procedures.”

Deutsche Bank analyst Tao Levy said in a research note that the potential market for the new device could exceed $1 billion.

The other hospitals to use the catheter earlier this month were Cleveland Clinic and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Boston. Each hospital used it to treat different heart conditions.

Cardiac arrhythmia is a series of very rapid heartbeats that begin in the heart’s upper chambers. Generally, it’s not life-threatening, although it can be problematic. Depending on the severity and age of the patient, treatment ranges from medication to implantable defibrillators to surgery.

- Maria Burnham: 529-2320