Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...


"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."

Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI 

“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP. 

Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017

“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”

Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD  Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD


Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...


"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, 
Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient, 
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA


Technology & Innovations

Force-Sensing Technologies

For the newest article see: 2014 AF Symposium: The New Era of Catheter Ablation Technology: Force Sensing Catheters

Endosense TactiCath ablation catheter can detect excessive contact force during robotic catheter navigation.

It’s been discovered that the force applied to heart tissue during RF ablation affects the size and safety of the lesions. Too little force results in lesions that are smaller in volume and depth and may not be effective. Too much force can result in pressure- and overheating-related complications such as steam pops, coagulum formation, or charring at the electrode. In worst cases they can lead to perforation and/or stroke.

(That’s why A-Fib patients are advised to seek out A-Fib doctors with experience who perform enough ablations a year to maintain and develop the “touch,” manual dexterity, and skill necessary to produce good ablations. Unlike other arrhythmias, A-Fib ablation requires greater technical skill, more time, and more lesions.)

New force-sensing technologies help doctors apply appropriate force. Sensors on the catheter give instantaneous feedback on the force applied at the catheter tip and even the angle of the catheter.

The Contact Force Sensor Catheter (TactiCath, Endosense, SA) uses three optical fibers to measure “microdeformation”—how much the catheter tip bends when pressed against heart tissue. The force applied changes the wavelength of light in the optical fibers. The force applied during an ablation shows up on an imaging/mapping system as either yellow, green or red. Doctors can see when they make an ablation how much force they applied to a particular spot. (Posted 2011)

Back to top

Return to Index of Articles: Research and Innovations

Last updated: Sunday, February 15, 2015

Related Posts

Follow Us
facebook - A-Fib.comtwitter - A-Fib.comlinkedin - A-Fib.compinterest - A-Fib.comYouTube: A-Fib Can be Cured! - A-Fib.com

We Need You Help A-Fib.com be self-supporting-Use our link to Amazon  

A-Fib.com is a
501(c)(3) Nonprofit



Your support is needed. Every donation helps, even just $1.00.



A-Fib.com top rated by Healthline.com since 2014 

Home | The A-Fib Coach | Help Support A-Fib.com | A-Fib News Archive | Tell Us What You think | Press Room | GuideStar Seal | HON certification | Disclosures | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy