New Study Data Support Efficacy of Vektor Medical’s vMap-Guided Ablation Tech

Vektor Medical is heralding positive results from a peer-reviewed study confirming the various benefits of its vMap-guided activation mapping and ablation technology in patients with hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia (VT).

The study in EP Europace, “Artificial Intelligence ECG Localization Facilitates Focused Activation Mapping and Improves Outcomes in Hemodynamically Unstable Ventricular Tachycardia,” demonstrated that 80% of patients treated with vMap-guided mapping were free from VT recurrence or death at one year, compared with 43% of patients treated using conventional ablation strategies. The improved outcomes were achieved without increases in complications, procedure time, or fluoroscopy exposure.

“Demonstrating improved patient outcomes without added procedural time or risk is critical,” Vektor Medical CEO Rob Krummen stated. “Rigorous, investigator-led studies like this show that vMap’s non-invasive, data-driven approach can expand the ability to effectively and safely map even the most challenging arrhythmias, like VT, enabling targeted ablation, particularly in high-risk patients where treatment compromises have historically been necessary.”

Hemodynamically unstable VT is among the most complex and high-risk arrhythmias treated by electrophysiologists. Since sustained VT is typically poorly tolerated, physicians frequently rely on substrate-only approaches, which may limit mechanistic insight and contribute to recurrence. Prior literature reports that acute hemodynamic decompensation occurs in up to 11% of VT ablation procedures, resulting in cardiogenic shock or death.¹

In this investigator-initiated, two-center study, 30 patients underwent vMap-guided mapping and ablation and were compared to 30 control patients treated using traditional ablation strategies. In the vMap cohort, physicians used brief VT inductions to rapidly localize arrhythmia origin and guide strategic catheter placement for focused activation mapping.

vMap is a non-invasive solution that uses advanced computational algorithms to transform data from a standard 12-lead ECG into patient-specific information intended to localize arrhythmia sources. In the study, VT origin was identified in under 30 seconds, minimizing VT duration while preserving critical diagnostic information to support mechanistic mapping.

Summary of key findings:

• Improved long-term outcomes: At one year, 80% of patients receiving vMap-guided ablation were free from VT recurrence or death, compared to 43% for the control.
• Improved acute efficacy: Acute termination of VT occurred in 37% of vMap-guided patients, compared with 0% in the control group.
• Rapid, non-invasive localization: VT origin was localized within 30 seconds on a patient-specific 3D heart model, enabling strategic catheter placement for focused activation mapping.
• No increase in procedure or fluoroscopy time and no increase in procedure risk: Despite a higher-risk baseline patient profile in the vMap group, procedural time, fluoroscopy time, and complication rates were similar between groups, with no increase in acute hemodynamic collapse or need for rescue mechanical circulatory support.

“These patients represent one of the most challenging populations electrophysiologists treat,” said Gordon Ho, M.D., lead study author and cardiac electrophysiologist at UC San Diego Health. “Hemodynamic instability often forces compromises in mapping strategy. This study demonstrates that rapid, non-invasive localization can preserve physiologically meaningful activation mapping while minimizing VT duration. The significant improvement in one-year outcomes suggests that enabling focused mechanistic ablation—even in unstable VT—may meaningfully improve care in a population where treatment options have been limited.”

The findings reinforce the importance of maintaining mechanistic insight whenever feasible, rather than defaulting to substrate-only strategies when VT tolerance is limited, company executives claim.

Headquartered in San Diego, Vektor Medical is attempting to redefine the way arrhythmias are understood and treated. The company developed vMap, the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared, non-invasive technology that uses standard 12-lead ECG data to localize arrhythmia source locations across all four heart chambers. By helping physicians identify arrhythmia drivers more quickly and with greater accuracy, Vektor is aiming to improve outcomes, enhance efficiencies, and accelerate access to effective treatment strategies.

Reference
¹ Santangeli P, Muser D, Zado ES, Magnani S, Khetpal S, Hutchinson MD, et al. Acute hemodynamic decompensation during catheter ablation of scar-related ventricular tachycardia: incidence, predictors, and impact on mortality. Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. 2015;8:68-75.