St. Jude shows integrated ViewMate ultrasound with ICE catheter
BOSTON—St. Jude Medical featured its ViewMate II ultrasound system with the ViewFlex Plus Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE) catheter last week at the Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium (BAFS).
The St. Paul, Minn.-based company ViewMate system uses ultrasound technology to produce intracardiac images by transmitting sound waves through a transducer on the tip of the catheter—the transducer converts electric energy into sound energy, the sound waves then reflect off structures inside the heart and the transducer converts them back into electric energy to produce the anatomical images.
The intracardiac images created by the ViewMate II System help guide physicians in performing procedures such as radiofrequency ablation to treat irregular heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation, and in closing defects such as patent foramen ovale, according to St. Jude.
The ViewMate II System with the ViewFlex Plus Catheter recently received European CE Mark approval. The system also received FDA clearance in January 2008 and has been used in the U.S. since that time. St. Jude began distributing its ViewMate II System with ViewFlex Plus Catheter, following its merger with EP MedSystems in July 2008.
St. Jude said its ViewFlex Plus Catheter’s one-hand control frees physicians to position other devices. Its tip features a 64-element, linear-phased array transducer capable of imaging. The tip itself has a bi-directional curve and a deflection angle of up to 120 degrees. The catheter’s 9 French size allows physicians to create a smaller opening through which to insert the catheter into a vessel.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based company ViewMate system uses ultrasound technology to produce intracardiac images by transmitting sound waves through a transducer on the tip of the catheter—the transducer converts electric energy into sound energy, the sound waves then reflect off structures inside the heart and the transducer converts them back into electric energy to produce the anatomical images.
The intracardiac images created by the ViewMate II System help guide physicians in performing procedures such as radiofrequency ablation to treat irregular heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation, and in closing defects such as patent foramen ovale, according to St. Jude.
The ViewMate II System with the ViewFlex Plus Catheter recently received European CE Mark approval. The system also received FDA clearance in January 2008 and has been used in the U.S. since that time. St. Jude began distributing its ViewMate II System with ViewFlex Plus Catheter, following its merger with EP MedSystems in July 2008.
St. Jude said its ViewFlex Plus Catheter’s one-hand control frees physicians to position other devices. Its tip features a 64-element, linear-phased array transducer capable of imaging. The tip itself has a bi-directional curve and a deflection angle of up to 120 degrees. The catheter’s 9 French size allows physicians to create a smaller opening through which to insert the catheter into a vessel.