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Southlake Regional Health Centre:
First Hospital World-Wide to Treat Patient with New Cardiac Catheter

(Newmarket, Ontario February 22, 2007) Today, Southlake Regional Health Centre became the first hospital world-wide to treat a patient using a new cardiac catheter for use in electrophysiology (EP) studies—a specialized procedure to diagnose and treat conditions associated with rhythm disturbances of the heart.

Similar to GPS navigation, the single-use ultrasound catheter uses magnetic fields to register two- dimensional ultrasound images of the heart within specialized heart mapping software.As the software receives the ultrasound images, they are stacked like a deck of cards to create a 3D model of the heart or individual chamber of the heart. Using these images, the physician can pinpoint locations within the patient’s heart that require treatment for debilitating and often life threatening arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) with great precision and without the use of X-rays.

“Southlake Regional Health Centre is committed to supporting innovative advances in the treatment of cardiac disease,” said Dr. Zaev Wulffhart, Medical Director of the Heart Rhythm Program. “Southlake is the only heart centre in Canada to use intra-cardiac ultrasound in the treatment of heart rhythm disorders. As a result, it was a good fit for us to participate in the evaluation of this next generation device.”

The main advantage of the new catheter’s ultrasound capabilities, merged with the heart mapping software, is that images of the heart can be created in real time. The current norm at other heart centres is to take images of the heart using high resolution CT Scans or MRIs. Although this process is effective, the images are usually taken several days in advance of the scheduled EP study. Using intra-cardiac ultrasound enables patients to receive treatment faster and reduces both patient and physician exposure to X-rays.

During the next several weeks, selected patients with rhythm disturbances of the heart will be treated using the new catheter by Southlake electrophysiologists Drs. Yaariv Khaykin and Atul Verma with the support of a highly skilled team of cardiac nurses and technologists.

Upon request by Drs. Khaykin and Verma, Special Access Authorization was granted on January 15, 2007 from Health Canada’s Therapeutic Products Directorate to permit Biosense Webster Inc., a unit of Johnson & Johnson Medical Products, a Division of Johnson & Johnson Inc., to import and distribute the 3D Intra Cardiac Echo (ICE) Diagnostic ultrasound catheter and Carto XP EP Navigation System V9 software to Southlake Regional Health Centre for use in specialized procedures to diagnose and treat patients with conditions associated with rhythm disturbances of the heart.

Southlakes Regional Cardiac Care Program is committed to providing advanced cardiac services closer to home for the residents living within York Region, Simcoe County, Muskoka and Dufferin-Caledon. It consists of the following sub-programs: Heart Rhythm, Cardiac Surgery, Invasive/Interventional, Cardiac Diagnostics and Clinics, Medical Cardiology and Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation. Within the Heart Rhythm Program, approximately 600 EP studies and ablations, 250 ICD implants, and 500 pacemaker implants are performed each year.

Dr. Yaariv Khaykin (right) uses the new ultrasound catheter during an electrophysiology study at Southlake.

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