vMap Mapping Expertise for Cardiac Arrhythmias: Interview with Mike Monko, CEO of Vektor Medical
Vektor Medical, a medtech firm primarily based in San Diego, created the vMap system, a mapping answer for cardiac arrhythmias. The system is the primary to determine arrhythmia sources wherever within the coronary heart, together with the septal wall, outflow tracts, and all 4 chambers. The corporate studies that the expertise takes lower than three minutes to supply a end result.
The system makes use of 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) knowledge to pin-point the situation of an arrythmia, and so is non-invasive. Correct mapping of arrythmia sources is necessary in making certain that subsequent remedy is profitable. Within the case of ablation for atrial fibrillation, the process is unsuccessful roughly half of the time, highlighting the necessity for extra exact mapping of the arrythmia supply.
The vMap system gives a 3D map of the guts that highlights arrythmia sources each inside and out of doors the guts. As arrythmias seem like extra widespread in recovered COVID-19 sufferers, the inception of the expertise is pertinent through the present pandemic.
Right here’s a video from Vektor Medical about vMap:
Medgadget had the chance to talk with Mike Monko, CEO and co-founder of Vektor Medical, in regards to the vMap system.
Conn Hastings, Medgadget: Please give us an summary of cardiac arrhythmias and the dangers that they pose for patients.
Mike Monko, Vektor Medical: An arrhythmia happens when the guts beats too quick, too gradual or erratically. When the guts doesn’t beat correctly, it will possibly’t pump blood successfully.
One in 4 Individuals will develop an arrhythmia of their lifetime and they’re turning into more and more widespread in recovered COVID-19 sufferers.
Atrial fibrillation (AF), the commonest kind of cardiac arrhythmia, is anticipated to develop to greater than 12 million circumstances yearly within the U.S. by 2030, and may end up in stroke, coronary heart failure, and even demise. Arrhythmias are mostly handled with an ablation process, which burns or freezes tissue within the coronary heart to dam the irregular beating.
Medgadget: How are cardiac arrhythmias recognized at current, and the way is that this sub-optimal?
Mike Monko: Cardiac mapping is essential in understanding the place an arrhythmia supply is situated and the way a lot to ablate. Nonetheless, first time AF ablation procedures are unsuccessful roughly 40%-60% of the time. That is largely because of the lack of expertise on arrhythmia supply areas.
Conventional mapping methods are time-consuming, invasive and excessive in fluoro publicity. Moreover, for the reason that catheter acts because the “eyes” for the technician throughout a conventional mapping process, visibility is restricted primarily based on the positioning of the catheter and lacks precision in mapping the guts. Newer mapping methods are much less invasive than the standard methods however they nonetheless impose limitations on the place it’s potential to map and infrequently require additional steps, akin to a computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Medgadget: Please give us an summary of the vMap system and the way it works.
Mike Monko: vMap is the primary expertise designed to determine potential arrhythmia sources wherever within the coronary heart – all 4 chambers, septal wall and outflow tracts – utilizing the info from a typical 12-lead echocardiogram (ECG). It’s meant to shortly, simply, and non-invasively map arrhythmia sources related to focal- or fibrillation-type arrhythmias in all 4 chambers of the guts, the septal wall, and the outflow tracts.
The simple-to-use system takes lower than three minutes for a clinician to enter case data, add and markup an ECG, and obtain a 3D, interactive arrhythmia supply location map visualizing the within and out of doors of the guts. Taking much less time to seek out goal areas with vMap shortens the process, which reduces the potential for problems from invasive mapping and lengthy fluoro publicity. The truth is, we’ve had customers share that vMap might have saved them hours, as they might have recognized the place to go first.
Medgadget: How did the expertise come about? What impressed you to develop it?
Mike Monko: vMap was invented by physicians and engineers at College of California San Diego, together with David Krummen, M.D., Christopher Villongco, Ph.D., Gordon Ho, M.D. and Andrew McCulloch, Ph.D., to deal with shortcomings within the present commonplace of take care of coronary heart rhythm problems. These 4 visionaries and I co-founded Vektor Medical to develop and commercialize the expertise. We share a imaginative and prescient to remodel drugs and harness the facility of non-invasive ECG knowledge to enhance cardiac ablation remedy.
Medgadget: Is the expertise straightforward to make use of for clinicians?
Mike Monko: Sure, it’s. We particularly designed vMap to suit inside an electrophysiologists present workflow. It makes use of present ECG knowledge and is easy and quick to make use of. Our customers constantly touch upon how straightforward the system is to make use of.
Medgadget: What are the subsequent steps for the expertise? The place and when will or not it’s obtainable?
Mike Monko: We’re presently targeted on rolling out the expertise at choose cardiovascular facilities of excellence throughout the nation over the approaching 12 months earlier than making it extra extensively obtainable. At the moment, vMap is on the market at UC San Diego Well being. We additionally sit up for sharing the outcomes of our scientific validation research evaluating the efficiency of vMap on the Coronary heart Rhythm Society convention in San Francisco on April 29, 2022.
Hyperlink: Vektor Medical homepage…
