CardioInsight Hires VP of Clinical Affairs

CardioInsight Technologies Inc. has added Jim Hassett to its team as the company’s vice president of Clinical Affairs.

Hassett brings more than 30 years of product development, clinical development and regulatory affairs experience in the field of cardiac rhythm management to CardioInsight.  His previous roles include senior management level positions in clinical and therapy development, most notably at Daig Corporation and subsequently at St Jude Medical, where he held vice president positions in the AF Division. Hassett has managed the development and clinical introduction of a number of innovative electrophysiology products that include cardiac mapping, arrhythmia ablation, and heart failure devices, according to his new firm.

“I have been aware of CardioInsight’s technology for a number of years, and have been impressed with its development into a commercial product,” said Hassett.  “The ECVUE system addresses a clear unmet need in the treatment of arrhythmias and other electrical disorders of the heart, and I look forward to helping make this system a valuable clinical tool in everyday electrophysiology practice.”

Cleveland, Ohio-based CardioInsight recently announced the commercial introduction of its ECVUE non-invasive cardiac mapping system in Europe, and is working to demonstrate the clinical utility of the system in a commercial setting.  In the coming year, the company will pursue regulatory clearance in the United States, as well as accelerate its clinical development efforts to further validate what the company says is the device’s unique ability to simplify cardiac mapping procedures, reduce procedure times, and expand the use of mapping to new applications, including cardiac resynchronization therapy.

“Jim’s extensive clinical development experience, coupled with his strong reputation working with the FDA and clinical thought leaders throughout the world will be an invaluable asset as we accelerate our clinical development,” said Steve Arless, CardioInsight’s CEO. “The ability to attract someone of Jim’s caliber is further validation of the potential of the ECVUE system, and CardioInsight’s continued evolution to a commercial stage company.”

CardioInsight develops technology that non-invasively generates 3-D images of the electrical activity of the heart. The images help physicians more accurately treat certain heart ailments such as arrhythmias and congestive heart failure. The company’s ECVUE system non-invasively generates real-time, whole heart images of the electrical activity on the surface of the heart by combining body surface electrical data with 3-D anatomical data obtained from imaging scans. It then reconstructs and displays 3-D images and other useful measures of cardiac electrical activity as if the measurements were taken directly from the surface of the heart. The Company has received its CE Mark and markets the ECVUE system in Europe.