Development of an anatomic heart model for the minimally-invasive closure of the left atrial appendage

The catheter based minimally-invasive closure of the left atrial appendage for stroke prevention can be realized by placing foldable structures in the heart with the help of a catheter. As a platform for the development and the evaluation of new devices, a phantom was developed that allows to perform the intervention under realistic imaging conditions. The centerpiece of the phantom is an anatomical correct hollow two chamber silicone heart model that offers the possibility to insert and unfold the occlusion device inside the left atrial appendage. The model is compatible with two and three dimensional ultrasound and fluoroscopy imaging. Untrained test persons were asked to perform the intervention and it could be concluded that one of the critical points of the procedure is to predict the implant position after the unfolding of the device.