Purpose: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is widely established as a curative treatment option for atrial fibrillation (AF). A wide range of techniques to improve catheter manipulation and steerability has been developed over the past years. A new remote catheter system (RCS) has recently become available (Amigo Remote Catheter System, Catheter Robotics, Budd Lake, NJ, USA). Here, we present a dual-center study on the RCS for left atrial mapping and PVI in patients with paroxysmal AF compared to a control group undergoing conventional PVI.
Methods: One hundred nineteen patients who underwent PVI for paroxysmal AF were studied. Forty patients underwent PVI with the use of the RCS. Seventy-nine patients, who underwent conventional PVI, served as control group. Procedural data were compared between the two groups.
Results: PVI was achieved in all patients. In the RCS group compared to standard ablation group, there were no significant differences in procedure duration (159.1 ± 45.4 vs. 146 ± 30.1 min, p = 0.19), total energy delivery (78,146.3 ± 26,992.4 vs. 87,963.9 ± 79,202.1 Ws, p = 0.57), and total fluoroscopy time (21.2 ± 8.6 vs. 23.9 ± 5.4 min, p = 0.15). Operator fluoroscopy exposure was significantly reduced in the RCS group (13.4 ± 6.1 vs. 23.9 ± 5.4 min, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: These initial results suggest that left atrial mapping and PVI are feasible with the use of the Amigo RCS. Acute procedural efficacy is comparable to the standard approach. The use of the Amigo RCS leads to a significant reduction of operator fluoroscopy exposure.