Transoesophageal defibrillation

The conventional approach to external trans-chest deflbrillation is an extremely low efficient method of delivering energy to the heart. The oesophagus shares a close anatomical relationship with the heart and offers a more optimal pathway for the delivery of a DC countershock. This paper reports on the design of a new unipolar catheter for transoesophageal deflbrillation. The work includes animal data followed by a series of human studies.