A few months ago, Ra Medical Systems had let go nearly 65% of its full-time personnel. Things looked bleak for the Carlsbad, CA-based company.

But now things are going in a much more positive direction as Ra is merging with Catheter Precision, a company focused on the field of cardiac electrophysiology. If the merger is completed, Catheter Precision would be a subsidiary of Ra.

Catheter Precision has three product areas that it intends to pursue. Its lead product, named VIVO  (an acronym for View Into Ventricular Onset), is an FDA-cleared and CE Mark product that utilizes non-invasive inputs to locate the origin of ventricular arrhythmias, and, through its use, the physician can identify patients for invasive catheter ablation, and with those patients, reduce the amount of time in the invasive procedure.

Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular tachyarrhythmias and premature ventricular arrhythmias, diseases which affect millions of patients that are not well treated today. While much past growth in the electrophysiology market has been for atrial fibrillation, Catheter Precision said it believes that ventricular arrhythmias represent a large growth area moving forward. It also intends to pursue a second generation of Amigo, a robotic arm previously cleared by both FDA and CE, which serves as a catheter control device that can be remotely controlled outside of the procedure room.

Catheter Precision has demonstrated that patient outcomes could potentially be enhanced by utilization of this device. Catheter Precision is working toward a third product release in the first half of 2023, which is a vessel closure device that would assist in the closure of the insertion site of the percutaneous catheter or other device used within the body. It is estimated that the worldwide market for this closure assist device is over one million procedures per year.

“We look forward to welcoming Ra Medical stockholders to our combined company following the completion of the proposed merger transaction,” said David Jenkins, Catheter Precision founder and CEO. “Catheter Precision is committed to producing cost-effective, user-friendly and technologically differentiated tools for use in percutaneous catheter procedures that physicians will embrace. Our VIVO non-invasive 3D imaging system enables physicians to identify the origin of arrhythmias pre-procedure, thereby streamlining workflow and reducing procedure time. We are also considering development opportunities for the Amigo remote catheter system, which incorporates the most modern technologies while remaining easy to learn and use, and we are looking forward to the launch of our vessel closure device, currently targeted for the first half of next year. We envision a significant opportunity afforded by this merger by providing access to the public capital markets.”