May 21, 2008 - On the Heart Rhythm 2008 exhibit hall floor, Siemens Healthcare said it will extend its strategic alliance with Biosense Webster by opening up the ACUSON AcuNav ultrasound catheter for use on third party ultrasound systems, as Siemens aims to make the ACUSON AcuNav technology a standard of care in electrophysiology and interventional cardiology.
The move would couple their ultrasound equipment with advanced intracardiac echocardiography (ICE). In 2006, the two companies announced an agreement giving Biosense Webster the exclusive worldwide rights to distribute Siemens' ACUSON AcuNav ultrasound catheters, as well as a codevelopment of the technology in the future.
The ACUSON AcuNav ultrasound catheter is designed to provide electrophysiologists and interventional cardiologists with real-time diagnostic ultrasound images and Doppler blood flow information from within the heart. Cleared for marketing in 1999, the intracardiac catheter is known for its state-of-the art quality and is currently the world's only cardiac imaging ultrasound catheter.
Introducing an open standard for the use of ICE means that this technology is available for a growing cardiac patient population with the goal of making the ACUSON AcuNav technology a standard of care in electrophysiology and interventional cardiology.
August 27, 2024 
