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CompletedNCT03365440esoECG-3DUpdated Dec 20, 2019

Esophageal 3D Mapping System for Cardiac Arrhythmias

An observational study in Arrhythmia, Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter, sponsored by Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern. Completed at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-12-20.

Sponsored by Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
46
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The aim of the study is to develop and validate a novel esophageal mapping system to improve the diagnostics of cardiac arrhythmias. Using a newly designed esophageal ECG catheter, esophageal ECGs (eECGs) will be recorded in 40 patients during an electrophysiological (EP) study and/or ablation procedure and in 12 healthy volunteers. In parallel acquired intracardiac electrograms will serve as reference for the developed mapping systems accuracy. Additionally, the esophageal mapping system will be compared to that of the standard 12-lead surface ECG in regard to its diagnostic performance.

Read the detailed description

Background

Cardiac arrhythmias are common and may have devastating consequences for affected patients. To prevent f.e. strokes due to atrial fibrillation, heart failures as a consequence of long-standing tachyarrhythmias or death due to ventricular fibrillation, accurate and timely diagnoses are essential. The standard diagnostic tool for heart rhythm disorders in everyday clinical life is the 12-channel surface electrocardiogram (ECG). However, despite its strengths, the surface ECG suffers from several limitations. Especially on the supraventricular level, the low atrial signal amplitude renders it prone to errors and causes surface ECGs to quickly reach the limits of their diagnostic capacities.

This limitation could be overcome by recordings through the esophagus. Owing the close anatomical relationship, esophageal ECGs have an excellent atrial signal quality. To fully exploit their potential, a novel esophageal ECG catheter (esoECG catheter) with 3-dimensional electrode arrangement was developed. The aim of this study is to use the esoECG-3D catheter to develop and validate a non-invasive esophageal mapping system in order to improve the diagnostics of cardiac arrhythmias and consequently the therapy of patients suffering from these disorders.

Objectives

Primary objective (A1): Development of an esophageal non-invasive mapping system which shall be able to depict

  • A1.1: the source of focal triggers
  • A1.2: the sequence of cardiac depolarization

with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Secondary objectives (A2):

  • A2.1: outperform the diagnostic accuracy of 12-lead ECGs in bedside arrhythmia diagnostics
  • A2.2: estimate the speed of myocardial depolarization on the left atrial wall from esophageal ECG tracings
  • A2.3: extract respiration signals from esophageal ECG tracings
  • A2.4: determine the wearing comfort of the device
  • A2.5: determine the operability of the device

Safety objective (A3): Determination of safety of the esoECG-3D catheter for esophageal ECG recordings with respect to:

  • A3.1: device related adverse events
  • A3.2: device related serious adverse events
  • A3.3: device failures, including insertion failure

Methods

Esophageal ECGs will be acquired from a total of 52 participants using the esophageal esoECG-3D catheter. 40 of these will be recorded during an electrophysiological study and/or ablation procedure to obtain a reference (intracardiac measurements) for the evaluation of outcome measures. In a subset of patients, defined pacing maneuvers will be performed; 12-channel ECG and breathing sensor recordings will be obtained from all participants in parallel to eECG measurements. The acquired data will be used for development of algorithms to non-invasively map the hearts depolarization process from recordings in the esophagus. Outcome evaluation will be performed after completion of all measurements and after implementation of the final mapping algorithms.

02

Conditions studied

  • Arrhythmia
  • Atrial Fibrillation
  • Atrial Flutter
  • Atrial Tachycardia
  • Supraventricular Tachycardia
  • Ventricular Ectopic Beat(S)
  • Cardiac Arrythmias

Keywords

  • ECG
  • cardiac arrhythmia
  • heart rhythm
  • esophageal ECG
  • non-invasive mapping
  • supraventricular tachycardia
  • atrial fibrillation
  • atrial flutter
  • extrasystole
03

In context

Arrhythmias, Cardiac

1,051 studies on the registry are indexed under Arrhythmias, Cardiac; 236 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 46 is below the median of 200 across 467 observational studies indexed under Arrhythmias, Cardiac.

Browse Arrhythmias, Cardiac studies →

Lead sponsor

Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern is the lead sponsor of 741 studies on the registry; 180 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

The study population consists of (40) adult patients that are scheduled for an elective electrophysiological study and/or ablation procedure at the study location and of (12) healthy volunteers without any known heart disease.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • as documented by signature
  • Age >18 years
  • Group 1: Patients scheduled for an elective electrophysiological study and/or ablation procedure including a transseptal passage
  • Group 2: Patients, scheduled for an elective electrophysiological study and/or ablation procedure without transseptal passage
  • Group 3: Healthy volunteers, without any known cardiac disease

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • to the class of devices under study, e.g. known or allergy to class of devices or the device
  • Status post atrial fibrillation ablation within the last 4 weeks
  • Unstable angina pectoris or acute coronary syndrome
  • Hemodynamic instability
  • Respiratory instability
  • Disease or malformation of the upper airways or esophagus, making naso-esophageal catheter insertion impossible
  • Hereditary severe bleeding diathesis
  • Status post surgical intervention of the esophagus or stomach within the last 4 weeks
  • Known cancer of the esophagus or stomach
  • Pregnancy
  • Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
46 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • EP study with transseptal passage

    * 15-30 minute esophageal ECG (using esoECG-3D catheter) \& respiration recording during elective EP study and/or ablation procedure * Focal pacing maneuvers

    Device: esoECG-3D catheter

  • EP study without transseptal passage

    - 15-30 minute esophageal ECG (using esoECG-3D catheter) \& respiration recording during elective EP study and/or ablation procedure

    Device: esoECG-3D catheter

  • Healthy participants

    - 60 minute esophageal ECG (using esoECG-3D catheter) \& respiration recording

    Device: esoECG-3D catheter

Interventions

  • DeviceesoECG-3D catheter

    Recording of esophageal ECGs with the investigational medical device (IMD). Recording of respiration with a commercial breathing sensor.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Accuracy of focal trigger localization by esophageal mapping system

    Reference: intracardiac recordings

    Time frame: within 1 year after study completion

  2. Accuracy of cardiac activation sequence estimation by esophageal mapping system

    Reference: intracardiac recordings

    Time frame: within 1 year after study completion

Secondary outcomes

  1. Diagnostic performance of esophageal mapping system compared to standard 12-channel ECG

    Reference: intracardiac recordings

    Time frame: within 1 year after study completion

  2. Accuracy of depolarization propagation speed estimation from eECGs (acquired with IMD)

    Reference: intracardiac recordings

    Time frame: within 1 year after study completion

  3. Accuracy of respiration estimation from eECGs (acquired with IMD)

    Reference: breathing sensor recordings

    Time frame: within 1 year after study completion

  4. Incidence of Adverse Events [Safety and Tolerability]

    Incidence of Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events to determine safety and tolerability of IMD

    Time frame: up to 12 hours after study completion

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Inselspital Bern
    Bern, Bern (Kanton) 3010, Switzerland
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 20, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03365440
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 7, 2017
Start date
Dec 15, 2017
Primary completion
Nov 1, 2019
Completion
Nov 1, 2019
Last update
Dec 20, 2019

Study contacts

Hildegard Tanner, MD
principal investigator · Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Inselspital Bern

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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