VIDEO: Scott Lim on the use of NuVision ICE in structural heart procedures

The use of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) has gained significant traction in recent years, particularly with the introduction of advanced 3D and 4D imaging capabilities. These systems are now increasingly being used for structural heart procedures, either as a standalone imaging system or in combination with traditional transesophageal echo (TEE)

D. Scott Lim, MD, medical director of the Advanced Cardiac Valve Center and co-director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center at the University of Virginia (UVA) Health, shared his insights in a video interview on how ICE is revolutionizing structural heart procedures. He uses the Biosense Webster NuVision ICE catheter in structural heart procedures, including left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), tricuspid and mitral valve interventions.

"We found that there are a couple of benefits from the newer 3D/4D ICE platforms. One thing is it allows us for some cases to do away with concomitant TEE, which then would require usually general anesthesia and initial intubation. So for our more frail patients, this is a plus. The other thing is, because the ICE probe is situated within the blood pool inside the heart, it allows excellent 2D imaging of the structure of interest. That's so important for right-sided structures like the tricuspid valve, where TEE sometimes has to deal with shadowing from the base of the heart or other structures, versus ICE can see around that and give us really unparalleled images," Lim explained.