Deep inside the heart: the innovative catheter designed to revolutionise the treatment of arrhythmia

Published on 17/04/2026 - 15:00 GMT+2

Around 10% of Europeans aged 60 and supra are reported to endure from bosom arrhythmia.

“Clinical cognition of the information is highly variable,” explains Petr Neužil, Head of the Cardiology Clinic astatine Na Homolce Hospital, 1 of Czechia’s main hospitals. “The diligent whitethorn comprehend nothing; they whitethorn beryllium wholly asymptomatic. Then, they tin consciousness palpitations. They tin consciousness breathless. They cannot breathe. And precise often they consciousness weakness.”

Doctors present dainty the information done ablations made with flexible tubes called catheters. Catheters are placed into humor vessels and guided to the heart. They usage vigor oregon acold vigor to make tiny scars connected the aboveground of the heart. These scars assistance interruption up oregon insulate the electrical signals that origin irregular heartbeats.

Czech hospitals lone person the capableness to dainty 10,000 patients each twelvemonth — astir 1 4th of those successful need. Waiting lists tin agelong for up to 10 months. That’s wherefore this infirmary is taking portion successful the objective survey of an innovative catheter capable to screen much unhealthy insubstantial accurately with single, shorter vigor pulses.

The solution would safely velocity up the process, amended diligent betterment time, alteration waiting lists and prevention connected operational costs.

“You walk little clip with the catheter. You person a azygous shot. You lessen the applications, you lessen the manipulations and you lessen the tools you request to get inside,” explains Neužil.

The catheter has been developed by BTL Industries, a household institution that has go a planetary powerhouse for healthcare devices. Its hi-tech aesculapian products are exported to 80 countries. Their caller catheter and its power portion person been designed to marque the ablation process faster and much accurate.

“The doc places the catheter successful the vein and ablates, with a azygous changeable for the full country each astatine once, arsenic helium needs it. So the clip saved ranges from 3 hours to 15 minutes for ablation,” claims Martin Hanuliak, the company’s Head of Product Management. “The process is safer due to the fact that we use microsecond — that is 1 millionth-of-a-second — pulses, which ideally destruct the myocardium and spare the different tissue, truthful the bosom heals faster and better.”

The institution employs 4,500 radical worldwide, including 650 engineers.

“The main quality betwixt the catheter that we are processing present and the modular catheters is that ours is overmuch much complex,” explains Jiří Dašek, merchandise manager astatine the company. “It contains precise tiny parts that are little than 1 millimetre successful size. The 2nd quality is that our catheter moves, due to the fact that successful the past, the lone catheters successful usage were consecutive and fixed, without immoderate moving parts.”

Once approved by the wellness authorities, it is planned for the caller catheter and its power portion to besides beryllium wholly made successful the European Union. One cardinal physics boards are produced each twelvemonth astatine the company’s manufacturing facilities. These parts are past assembled successful astir 40,000 antithetic aesculapian devices.

“Our turnover usually grows by 10% oregon 15% connected average, depending connected the year. But it’s hard to accidental which areas are growing. Sometimes cardiology expands faster, sometimes it’s physiotherapy. It depends connected the products. If the institution would similar to support growing, it needs to innovate,” explains Tomas Drbal, Chief Technology Officer.

The caller catheter is spearheading this innovation drive. The instrumentality is present being utilized successful objective studies. Doctors and developers anticipation that it volition beryllium disposable connected EU markets from the opening of 2028.