Key result
Surgical epicardial access in large animal models enables direct visualization and testing of novel cardiac interventions.
Why the study?
Large animal surgeries validate preclinical electrophysiology studies, but few centers can perform experimental animal surgeries despite electrophysiologists being trained primarily in catheter-based approaches.
Extends large-animal epicardial electrophysiology capabilities; leaves open translation to clinical practice.
Large animal surgeries are the standard for validating pre-clinical electrophysiology studies, and serve as an important step for the rationale underlying clinical trials. Although electrophysiologists receive extensive training in catheter-based approaches, few medical centers have the capability to perform experimental animal surgeries in large animals. Here, we present a step-by-step guide to performing an epicardial approach to pacing and sensing in a large animal sheep model, with the goal of enabling a wide variety of pacing and ablation options.
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Lizama et al. (2026) studied Pre-clinical electrophysiology. Surgical epicardial approach was evaluated. A surgical epicardial approach in large animal models enables direct visualization, facile catheter manipulation, and the testing of new methods and materials on the cardiac surface.
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