Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
First 1000 cases of dual-energy lattice-tip ablation for atrial fibrillation: Procedural experience, clinical practice impact, and cost analysis
- real-world, single-center experience
- consecutive patients
- prospectively enrolled
- compared with a pre-implementation cohort
Authors' conclusion
AF ablation with the Sphere-9 catheter was associated with improved procedural efficiency, low complication rates, high same-day discharge, and favorable early effectiveness. These gains were offset by substantial increases in supply costs.
Study context
- Population
- Consecutive patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation with the Sphere-9 dual-energy lattice-tip catheter, December 2024 to January 2026patients who underwent 1008 procedures
- Participants
- 985 patients
- Exposure
- Procedural volume, efficiency, and supply-related costs and charges were compared with a pre-implementation cohort
- Sphere-9n = 985
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Procedure characteristics
paroxysmal
53.3%
first ablation
66.5%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Median procedure time · decreased
P < 0.001
Pulmonary vein isolation
- Pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in all cases
Same-day discharge
- Same-day discharge
- 83.5%
Annual AF ablation volume
- increase compared with pre-implementation
- 26.8%
Supply costs and charges
- Supply costs increase
- 37%
- Charges increase
- 43%
- P < .001
Safety
Acute safety events
- Acute safety events
- 2.4%
- coronary vasospasm
- n = 1
- ventricular fibrillation during mitral pulsed field ablation (PFA)
- n = 1
- persistent atrioventricular block
- n = 2
- device-related complications
- n = 3
- No deaths, strokes, tamponades, atrio-esophageal fistulas, or phrenic nerve injuries
Original publication
First 1000 cases of dual-energy lattice-tip ablation for atrial fibrillation: Procedural experience, clinical practice impact, and cost analysis. Heart Rhythm. Published 28 July 2026. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2026.07.035
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it