# Spatial Resynchronization Therapy for AFib

> **NIH NIH R43** · MAXWELL BIOMEDICAL INC · 2022 · $299,449

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
More than 450,000 hospitalizations each year in the US are due to atrial fibrillation (AF) which contributes to
approximately 160,000 deaths. This trend has been increasing for more than two decades, with estimations
that 12.1 million people in the US will have AF by 2030, placing a significant burden on the healthcare system.
Complications of AF include stroke, heart failure, and increasing mortality. AF is a progressive disease with
catheter ablation becoming increasingly common for the treatment of AF despite limited and highly variable
success rates and complications, with arrhythmia-free survival rates < 29% at 5 years. The current acute
standard of care is external cardioversion, with or without antiarrhythmic drugs. Unfortunately, high-voltage
external shocks are extremely painful, can cause additional arrhythmias, and often require escalation of care at
an annual cost of ~$26 billion. Efforts to address this unmet need have focused on internal atrial cardioversion
which has not been widely adopted due to the invasiveness and intolerable pain suffered from shocks. Efforts
to overcome these limitations have focused on wireless implantable devices which have been hindered by high
power consumption attributable to power harvesting modules of the circuit design. The Maxwell Biomedical
Spatial Resynchronization Therapy (SRT) System resolves the limitations of wireless implantable technologies
and high energy cardioversion for treating AF by utilizing spatiotemporal identification and stimulation to
globally advance refractoriness of complex reentry patterns enabling imperceptible pace-termination of AF.
This is accomplished via the SATELLITETM epicardial implant device, which is a wirelessly powered flexible
circuit with multiple paired electrodes that, when implanted, are distributed across the posterior wall of the left
atrium. The system records cardiac electrograms from each of the electrodes and the algorithm analyzes these
signals to determine electronic selection and pacing of paired electrodes using a state-of-the-art method from
Dynamical System Theory. Importantly, it operates below 0.1 J, an order of magnitude below the threshold for
pain. Evidence for the effectiveness of this approach has been shown in bench and in vivo studies, where the
SATELLITETM silicon CMOS components and sensors demonstrated a power transfer efficiency of 68%, far
exceeding current wirelessly powered devices. The ability of the algorithm to identify and pace-terminate AF
has also been confirmed in an open chest swine model of AF, which supports the translatability of SRT. The
Maxwell Biomedical SRT System is now ready for final refinement of the algorithm and implant hardware to
achieve design freeze, which will be characterized first on the bench (Aim 1), followed by the assessment of
efficacy and deliverability in vivo (Aim 2). Successful execution of Phase I studies will position SRT System for
full development, clinical studies, regulatory appro...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10546248
- **Project number:** 1R43HL164195-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** MAXWELL BIOMEDICAL INC
- **Principal Investigator:** Graydon Ernest Beatty
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $299,449
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2023-09-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10546248

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10546248, Spatial Resynchronization Therapy for AFib (1R43HL164195-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10546248. Licensed CC0.

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