Estech has announced that the first three patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) have been enrolled in the HISTORIC-AF European multicentre staged hybrid ablation clinical study.
The study is a two-step procedure, the first stage is a minimally invasive endoscopic epicardial ablation utilising the Cobra Adhere device to separate the posterior left atrium.
Four to six weeks later, the second stage is performed using electrophysiological mapping and endocardial catheter ablation.
Civil Hospital of the University of Brescia Medical School, Italy, electrophysiologist Antonio Curnis said the staged approach provides superior clinical success with efficient workflow.
”This will allow us to treat a large population of AF patients previously thought unsuitable for catheter or surgical ablation alone," he added.