Percutaneous transapical access for pulmonary vein mapping and ablation in a porcine model with a new high-density electroanatomical mapping system.

INTRODUCTION The porcine model is generally accepted for the development and testing of new forms oftherapy including ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the challenging left atrial (LA) and pulmonary vein (PV) anatomy enables only limited percutaneous catheter-based PV access. RESULTS Here we present I) an alternative percutaneous transapical access, which enables easy and safe retrograde transmitral LA and PV mapping and ablation; II) early experience of LA mapping and successful circumferential PV isolation with novel mapping system (Rhythmia(TM)) and new generation of ablation catheter equipped with micro electrodes (IntellaTip MiFi). CONCLUSION Although the experience with the transapical approach is limited, the initial results are promising as this may offer an alternative approach for tasting new technologies and translational research.