The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.6% today, but that's not holding back this surging ASX All Ords healthcare share.
The fast-rising company in question is Imricor Medical Systems Inc (ASX: IMR).
If you're unfamiliar with the company, Imricor is focused on the human heart.
The company describes itself as "leading the new field of real-time iCMR cardiac ablations – that is, cardiac ablations guided by real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), rather than by conventional x-ray fluoroscopy".
And in morning trade today, the Imricor share price is up 13.6% at $1.55 after the ASX All Ords healthcare share reported on a world-first heart surgery success.
Here's what's happening.
ASX All Ords healthcare share leaps on heart surgery milestone
Imricor shares are charging higher after the company reported the successful completion of the first ischemic ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation ever performed under real time MRI guidance in an iCMR lab.
The Amsterdam University Medical Centre team performed the VT ablation procedure. According to the release, this followed on previous experiences performing atrial flutter and premature ventricular complex (PVC) ablation procedures guided by real-time MRI and Imricor's NorthStar Mapping System.
Michiel Kemme, who performed the VT ablation, said:
This procedure is part of an international research program. The MRI imaging shows us precisely where the myocardial infarction took place; therefore, we can send the catheter to the exact spot. This information has the potential to make ablation more effective.
The ASX All Ords healthcare share noted that Ischemic VT is among the most challenging and life-threatening arrhythmias. It said conventional VT ablations often take more than eight hours with success rates as low as 40%.
As for the world firsts, Imricor said the procedure involved crossing the septum from the right side of the heart to the left, which had never been performed in a human under MRI guidance before.
And in another world first, the company noted that the ablation lesions were delivered from within the ventricle under real-time MRI guidance.
Kemme said:
Thanks to the interventional MRI, we can see exactly in 3D where the sheath and ablation catheter are. This allowed us to move from the right atrium to the left atrium through the septum. It gives us much more information than the usual method.
Commenting on the successful procedure, Imricor CEO Steve Wedan added:
This is a defining moment for Imricor and for the field of electrophysiology. Performing the world's first ischemic VT ablation entirely inside the MRI validates our core vision, that real-time MR guidance can unlock safer, more effective, and more personalised treatments for patients with complex arrhythmias.
With today's intraday surge focused in, the ASX All Ords healthcare share is up a whopping 107% since this time last year.
