A Comparative Study of Percutaneous Pulsed Field Ablation Guided by Ultrasound Alone Versus Fluoroscopy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

August 11, 2026 updated by: China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases
This prospective, randomized, multicenter, open-label, non-inferiority interventional study aims to compare the therapeutic efficacy of percutaneous pulsed field ablation (PFA) guided by ultrasound alone versus fluoroscopy in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). The success rate of complete electrical isolation of pulmonary veins during the procedure was compared to verify that ultrasound-only guidance is non-inferior to fluoroscopic guidance.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
276

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patients aged 18 to 75 years (including 18 years and 75 years of age).
  • Patients diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation via 12-lead electrocardiography or ambulatory electrocardiography and scheduled to undergo pulsed field ablation.
  • Subjects are able to understand the purpose of the study, voluntarily participate in the study and sign the informed consent, and are willing to complete the follow-up according to the requirements of the program.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Atrial fibrillation secondary to electrolyte imbalance, thyroid disorders, or reversible non-cardiac causes;
  • Previous history of catheter ablation or cardiac surgery for atrial fibrillation;
  • Prior surgical history including patent foramen ovale closure, atrial septal defect closure or repair;
  • Implantation of left atrial appendage occluder, mechanical mitral valve prosthesis, or valvuloplasty ring containing metallic materials;
  • Concomitant other tachyarrhythmias requiring catheter ablation (e.g., atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia, atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, etc.);
  • Persistent atrial fibrillation;
  • Left atrial anteroposterior diameter (LAD) > 55 mm on transthoracic echocardiography;
  • Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or of childbearing age with plans to become pregnant during the clinical trial;
  • Current participation in another pharmaceutical or medical device clinical study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Percutaneous pulsed field ablation performed under ultrasound-only guidance.
Percutaneous pulsed field ablation is performed under ultrasound-only guidance in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Procedure: Percutaneous pulsed field ablation is performed under ultrasound-only guidance in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Percutaneous pulsed field ablation is performed under ultrasound-only guidance in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Active Comparator: Pulsed field ablation performed under fluoroscopic guidance
Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation underwent percutaneous pulsed field ablation under fluoroscopic guidance.
Procedure: Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation underwent percutaneous pulsed field ablation under fluoroscopic guidance.
Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation underwent percutaneous pulsed field ablation under fluoroscopic guidance.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Success rate of complete electrical isolation of pulmonary veins during the procedure
Time Frame: Immediately post-procedure
The proportion of all pulmonary veins maintaining bidirectional block across ablation lines at 20 minutes after ablation completion.
Immediately post-procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The incidence of complications within 30 days after the procedure
Time Frame: Within 30 days post-procedure
Observe the proportion of complications occurring within 30 days after the procedure. Such complications include pericardial effusion or cardiac tamponade requiring drainage, phrenic nerve palsy lasting more than 24 hours, severe vascular complications requiring intervention, stroke/transient ischemic attack, atrioesophageal fistula, and death.
Within 30 days post-procedure
Success rate of atrial fibrillation ablation at 12 months post-procedure.
Time Frame: 12 months post-procedure
Defined as the absence of AF, atrial flutter (AFL), or atrial tachycardia (AT) episodes ≥30 seconds on dynamic electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring after the blanking period (90 days post-catheter ablation)
12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients admitted to hospital or emergency departments due to atrial fibrillation recurrence within 12 months after the procedure.
Time Frame: 12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients admitted to hospital or emergency departments due to atrial fibrillation recurrence within 12 months after the procedure.
12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients who received electrical cardioversion due to atrial fibrillation recurrence within 12 months after the procedure
Time Frame: 12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients who received electrical cardioversion due to atrial fibrillation recurrence within 12 months after the procedure.
12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients undergoing repeat ablation surgery owing to atrial fibrillation within 12 months after the procedure
Time Frame: 12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients undergoing repeat ablation surgery owing to atrial fibrillation within 12 months after the procedure
12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients who resumed antiarrhythmic drug therapy during follow-up after the blanking period
Time Frame: From the end of the blanking period (within 90 days after catheter ablation) to 12 months post-procedure
The proportion of patients who resumed antiarrhythmic drug therapy during follow-up after the blanking period
From the end of the blanking period (within 90 days after catheter ablation) to 12 months post-procedure
Improvement in the total EQ-5D quality-of-life questionnaire score at 12 months post-procedure compared with baseline
Time Frame: 12 months post-procedure
The degree of improvement in total EQ-5D scores at 12 months after ablation relative to baseline levels
12 months post-procedure
Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate differences in fluoroscopic exposure dose between the two groups.
Time Frame: Immediately post-procedure
Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate differences in fluoroscopic exposure dose between the two groups.
Immediately post-procedure
Compare the length of hospital stay and postprocedural ICU/CCU stay duration between the two groups.
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year
After hospital discharge, the length of hospital stay for this admission and the duration of postoperative observation in CCU/ICU were compared between the two groups of patients.
through study completion, an average of 1 year
Compare the procedural time and DSA fluoroscopy time between the two groups.
Time Frame: Immediately post-procedure
Statistical analyses were performed to compare procedural duration and DSA fluoroscopy duration across the two groups.
Immediately post-procedure
Compare the differences in costs between the two groups, including medical equipment costs, personnel costs, and patient hospitalization expenses.
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year
Total hospitalization costs incurred during this admission were compared between the two groups after hospital discharge.
through study completion, an average of 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Hangzhou Dinova EP Technology Co., Ltd

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 28, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 28, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 11, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2026-3078

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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