Stereotaxis announced that Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital has become the first in central China to establish a robotic electrophysiology program with installation of Stereotaxis' Robotic Magnetic Navigation technology. Chief physicians for arrhythmia treatment, Dr. Chen Ke and Dr. Song Weifeng, successfully performed their first robotic cardiac ablation procedure, treating a patient who suffered from a complex ventricular arrhythmia. Tens of millions of individuals worldwide suffer from arrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms that result when the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or with an irregular pattern.

When left untreated, arrhythmias may significantly increase the risk of stroke, heart failure, and sudden cardiac arrest. Robotic Magnetic Navigation introduces the benefits of robotic precision and safety to cardiac ablation, a common, minimally invasive procedure to treat arrhythmias. Robotic cardiac ablation is performed using a soft magnetic catheter navigated inside the heart by a physician seated at a computer cockpit.

The physician navigates the catheter using precise, robotically actuated magnets positioned on either side of the patient.