Cardiac Mapping Navigation Technologies for Arrhythmia Treatment

Electroanatomical cardiac mapping has become an indispensable tool for cardiac electrophysiologists during ablation procedures. The process of mapping heart rhythms is enhanced by the ability to track the 3D position of devices introduced into the heart in real time. This presentation provides an overview of the technology and techniques used for cardiac mapping and navigation in anticipation of the presentations to follow.

Anthony Scinicariello
Distinguished Systems Engineer, Medtronic

Anthony is a Distinguished Systems Engineer in the Cardiac Ablation Solutions operating unit of Medtronic. His work spans elicitation of user needs, feasibility, requirements development, and validation of medical device products in the cardiac electrophysiology space. Currently his work is focused on continued development of the Affera mapping and ablation system. Previous roles at Medtronic and St. Jude Medical / Abbott included work on implanted devices - pacemakers, defibrillators, and left-ventricular assist systems - in addition to cardiac ablation and mapping systems. He has a BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.

Henri Roukoz
University of Minnesota

Dr. Roukoz is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Section Head for Electrophysiology at the University of Minnesota. Dr Roukoz is also the Director of the Congenital and Complex Arrhythmia program and part of the Cardiac Sarcoidosis international consortium and the U of M sarcoidosis program. His clinical interests include epicardial and endocardial ablation of complex arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation) and implantation of EP medical devices. 

Dr. Roukoz received his MD from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon in 2004, and he completed an internship in internal medicine at the Hotel Dieu de France University Hospital, also in Beirut, in 2005. He did his internal medicine residency training at the Cleveland Clinic from 2005-2008, and completed two fellowships in Cardiology (2008-2011) and Electrophysiology (2011-2013) at the University of Minnesota. He has been on faculty at the University of Minnesota since 2013.

Scott Hareland
Chief Systems Engineer, Abbott

Scott Hareland is currently Chief Systems Engineer in the Electrophysiology Division at Abbott Laboratories where he works on advanced cardiac mapping, navigation, imaging, and ablation technologies.  Previously he was with Medtronic for 17 years in a variety of system engineering roles spanning implantable cardiac devices, cryoablation technologies, and implantable neurological systems development.  Prior to the medical device industry, he was a semiconductor device physicist working on advanced CMOS development at Intel Corporation.  He has a B.S.E.E. degree from Rice University and an M.S.E. and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.  He has approximately 60 patents in the field of biomedical engineering applications and semiconductor device and processing technology.

Kyle Newman
Medtronic

Kyle Newman has worked in Cardiac Ablations since 2018. Kyle joined Affera, Inc., a Boston based start-up in the cardiac ablation space in 2021. Affera, Inc. was acquired by Medtronic in 2022. He now works as a Program Manager connecting R&D with KOLs and working on Medtronic's vision for EP Lab of the future.

Timothy Laske, PhD
Vice President, Research and Business Development
Medtronic, Inc.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
University of Minnesota

Dr. Tim Laske is currently the Vice President of Research & Business Development for the Cardiac Ablation Solutions Business at Medtronic. He is a Medtronic Bakken Fellow and Technical Fellow and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. His previous roles at Medtronic include VP of Product Development for AF Solutions, Senior Product Development Director for Heart Valves, Senior Program Director for Transcatheter Heart Valves, Technology Director for Cardiac Rhythm Therapy Delivery, and various technology management and design engineering positions. Prior to his 31-year tenure at Medtronic, he worked as a Design Engineer at Ford Motor Company in Crash Safety and Advanced Vehicle Systems Engineering. He has a B.S. degree in both Biological Sciences and Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. He received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota where he serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery. His doctoral research was centered on the use of isolated working hearts in the design of medical devices and in parallel co founded the Visible Heart ® Laboratory ( www.visibleheart.com ). In addition to medical device design and cardiac physiology, his research interests include the study of hibernation physiology in wild black bear and brown bear populations and conservation of endangered species. He has more than 90 U.S. patents and numerous publications in the fields of Biomedical Engineering and Wildlife Biology/Ecology.

Lars Mattison
Principal Scientist, Medtronic

Lars is a Principal Scientist at Medtronic working in the Cardiac Ablation Solutions operating unit. His work has primarily been focused on Pulsed Field Ablation, but has broad exposure to electrophysiology studies and the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Prior to working at Medtronic, Lars completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota's Visible Heart Lab.