Dr. Knight Leads Development of New VeriSight Pro ICE
​Heart Catheter

September 23, 2021 | 2 min. to read

Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute has begun using a new real-time 3-D intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) device to obtain live, 3-D moving images from inside the heart during some heart surgeries.
 
“The capabilities of this new device, the VeriSight Pro ICE catheter, far exceed anything previously available,” says Bradley P. Knight, MD, medical director of cardiac electrophysiology at Northwestern Medicine and director of the Center for Heart Rhythm Disorders at Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. “This is a small device that can be placed inside the heart chambers during the procedure, providing us real-time images of the heart’s blood flow and structures, the interventional tools being navigated within the heart, and some areas of the heart that are difficult to view through more traditional echocardiography.”
 
Dr. Knight worked with Philips during innovation of the device. This summer, he became the first U.S. physician to use it for a heart rhythm procedure. The device, which has received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance, is available on a limited basis in the U.S.
 
Dr. Knight and colleagues at Northwestern Memorial Hospital now regularly use 3-D ICE during electrophysiology and catheterization procedures. They expect to begin enrolling patients in a registry to collect more data on the safety and efficacy of 3-D ICE and to generate a library of images. During the registry period, NMH will be among only a handful of medical centers offering the technology.
 
The VeriSight Pro uses the same ultrasound technology as transesophageal echocardiography, but the device is miniaturized to fit on a small catheter navigated to the patient’s heart via their vasculature. General anesthesia is typically not required, which reduces risk for the patient and speeds their recovery. It also means treatment can be offered to patients who are advised to avoid anesthesia because of the risk of increased complications.
 
“Our team is pleased to be the first to offer this technology for heart rhythm procedures,” says Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, executive director, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, and Heller-Sacks Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.