ESOlution (device to protect the esophagus during cardiac ablation)

2023: Device Announcement

On May 20, 2023, American researchers at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center announced the development of a new device called ESOlution to effectively protect the esophagus during cardiac ablation.

The novelty is intended for use during surgical procedures aimed at eliminating atrial fibrillation arrhythmias. Scientists say that this ailment is the most common problem that provokes heart rhythm disturbance. In atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers of the heart contract very quickly and non-rhythmically, which provokes dizziness, chest pain or stroke. To restore normal rhythm, catheter ablation is used - the destruction of small areas of heart tissue that cause atrial fibrillation. But this procedure can be accompanied by serious damage to the esophagus, which is in close proximity. ESOlution is designed to eliminate the danger.

ESOlution

The new method involves the use of a special long rod that moves down the esophagus to the desired area. Then, by means of a suction force, the device moves the esophageal wall about 25 mm to the side - away from the ablation equipment. As a result, surgeons are able to safely destroy target areas of heart tissue with minimal risk of esophageal damage.

A clinical study involving 120 people showed that in the traditional method of ablation of the heart, more than a third of patients received esophageal damage to one degree or another. The ESOlution system reduced this figure to less than 5%: moreover, in these patients the damage was much less significant than in people from the control group.^[1]

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