NHLBI Transmural Electrosurgery LeafLet Traversal And Laceration Evaluation (TELLTALE) BASILICA-TAVR Trial

NHLBI Transmural Electrosurgery LeafLet Traversal and Laceration Evaluation (TELLTALE) BASILICA-TAVR Trial

Background:

Replacing a valve in the heart can save many people's lives. The procedure is called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). In rare cases, a flap of tissue called a leaflet can shift during TAVR; the leaflet may block blood flow to the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle. About 50% of people who experience this problem will die. To reduce this risk, doctors will cut this leaflet during TAVR. But the tools used to cut the leaflet were originally designed for other purposes. Using these tools during TAVR can be complicated and risky. Researchers want to make TAVR safer.

Objective:

To test a new device (TELLTALE) designed specifically for use during TAVR.

Eligibility:

People aged 21 years and older who are undergoing TAVR and who are at high risk of coronary artery obstruction.

Design:

Participants will be screened. They will have routine tests that are done before undergoing TAVR.

Before the procedure, participants will complete a questionnaire. They will talk about how their heart disease affects their quality of life. Their physical abilities and their risk of stroke will be assessed.

Participants will be admitted to the hospital for TAVR. They will be placed under general anesthesia or moderate sedation. The procedure will be performed using the TELLTALE guidewire system.

Participants will repeat the tests of their physical abilities after the procedure. They will also repeat the questionnaire about their quality of life. These will be repeated again at a follow-up visit in 30 days.

Participants will have a final study visit after 90 days. This visit may be in person or remote.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Valvular Heart Disease; Aortic Valve Failure
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: TELLTALE BASILICA procedure

Detailed Description

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVR) may cause life threatening coronary artery obstruction, whether implanted in native aortic stenosis or bioprosthetic aortic valve failure.

We have developed and validated the techniques of BASILICA (Bioprosthetic Aortic Scallop Intentional Laceration to prevent Iatrogenic Coronary Artery obstruction during transcatheter aortic valve replacement), using bedside modification of off-the-shelf guidewires. These bedside modifications require additional assembly steps and special expertise, and thereby risks procedure failure and complications.

Transmural Systems and NHLBI have developed a purpose-built electrosurgical guidewire system (TELLTALE) to simplify the BASILICA-TAVR procedure. The purpose of this protocol is to test the efficacy and safety of this purpose-built guidewire in the setting of BASILICA-TAVR.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 90
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94109
      • California Pacific Med Ctr
  • Colorado
    • Fort Collins, Colorado, United States, 80528
      • University of Colorado Health
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20010
      • Medstar WHC
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30308
      • Emory University
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • New York
    • Rochester, New York, United States, 14621
      • Rochester Regional Health
    • Roslyn, New York, United States, 11576
      • St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center
    • The Bronx, New York, United States, 10467
      • Montefiore Medical Center
  • Virginia
    • Roanoke, Virginia, United States, 24014
      • Carilion Medical Center
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195
      • University of Washington Heart Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years to 109 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:

In order to be eligible to participate in the study, candidates must meet all of the following criteria:

• Adults age >= 21 years
• High or prohibitive risk of surgical aortic valve replacement according to the local multidisciplinary heart team
• Undergoing TAVR for bioprosthetic aortic valve failure or native aortic stenosis ( on-label TAVR)
• Local multidisciplinary heart team determines subject to be at high risk of TAVR-induced coronary artery obstruction

• Deemed likely to suffer coronary artery obstruction from TAVR based on NHLBI Core lab analysis of CT, any of

  • Risk is narrow Sinus of Valsalva: (a) Leaflet height is greater than coronary artery height, and (b) Virtual transcatheter valve-to-coronary (VTC) distance < 4mm
  • Risk is Sinus sequestration: (a) Threatening leaflet height is greater than sinotubular junction, and (b) Virtual transcatheter valve-to-sinotubular-junction distance (VTS) < 2mm at the affected Sinus
• Concurrence of the Study Eligibility Committee
• Able to understand the protocol, consents in writing to participate, and willing to comply with all study procedures for the duration of the study

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Requires doppio (two-leaflet) BASILICA
• Flail target leaflet at baseline
• Excessive target aortic leaflet calcification (no basal calcium-free window or potentially obstructive calcific masses) on baseline CT
• Planned provisional (pre-position coronary artery) stents despite BASILICA
• Requires non-femoral access
• Requires concomitant procedures during TAVR (such as percutaneous coronary intervention for baseline obstructive coronary artery disease)
• Chronic kidney disease KDIGO stage 4 or 5 (eGFR < 29 ml/min/1.73m2) or renal replacement therapy
• Not expected to survive for 12 months
• Pregnant at the time of intended treatment (day 0)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Participants undergoing TAVR with BASILICA using Transmural TELLTALE guidewire system; Participants with severe aortic stenosis or failure of surgically-implanted bioprosthetic valve undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with bioprosthetic or native aortic scallop intentional laceration to prevent iatrogenic coronary artery obstruction (BASILICA) using the Transmural TELLTALE guidewire system.

Device: TELLTALE BASILICA procedure; The TELLTALE BASILICA procedure has five steps: (1) engagement of the target leaflet with a guiding catheter; (2) electrosurgical leaflet traversal with the TELLTALE guidewire, (3) preparation and positioning of the TELLTALE guidewire electrosurgical leaflet laceration surface; (4) electrosurgical leaflet laceration with the TELLTALE guidewire, immediately followed by (5) TAVR. These are all guided by fluoroscopy, with adjunctive echocardiography as needed.; Other Names: Transmural TELLTALE guidewire system

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participant That Experienced Technical Success With the TELLTALE Guidewire System	The primary efficacy endpoint is technical success, which is defined when the following criteria are all met: Successful electrosurgical leaflet traversal using the TELLTALE Guidewire; Successful electrosurgical leaflet laceration using the TELLTALE Guidewire; Successful retrieval of the TELLTALE Guidewire System	1 minute following procedure discharge (Exit from the catheterization laboratory)
Number of Inpatient Safety Events	Inpatient safety as defined by: Freedom from all-cause mortality as defined as the total number of deaths from any cause; Freedom from stroke, both disabling and non-disablingDisabling stroke according to VARC-3 is defined as a stroke resulting in significant, persistent neurological deficits that impact a patient's ability to perform daily activities.Non-disabling stroke according to VARC-3, involves stroke symptoms that don't significantly impair a patient's ability to perform daily activities or lead to a worsening of their pre-stroke disability level.; Freedom from acute coronary artery obstruction; Freedom from emergency cardiac surgery or reintervention related to the TELLTALE BASILICA procedure or device-; Freedom from BASILICA-related complications including coronary artery perforation, coronary artery dissection, aortic dissection, cardiac free wall perforation, or systemic embolization of a native or bioprosthetic leaflet	Upon discharge from the index hospital admission, up to 30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Freedom From Safety Events	30-day safety as assessed by freedom from; Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events defined by no periprocedural myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular events, and periprocedural all-cause mortality; All-cause mortality: defined as total number of deaths from any cause; All stroke (disabling and non-disabling per VARC-3)Disabling results in significant, persistent neurological deficits that impact daily activitiesNon-disabling involves stroke symptoms that don't significantly impair daily activities or lead to worsening of their pre-stroke level; Bleeding VARC-3 Type 2 or greater requiring two or more units of transfused blood or hemoglobin drop >3g/dL; Major vascular, access-related, or cardiac structural complication according to VARC-3, including coronary obstruction; Acute kidney injury stage 3 or 4; Moderate or severe aortic regurgitation; New permanent pacemaker due to procedure-related conduction abnormalities; Surgery or intervention related to the TELLTALE device	Up to Day 30

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Robert J Lederman, M.D., National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 21, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 14, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): April 25, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 24, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 27, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 28, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 3, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: TAVR; Electrosurgery; Structural heart disease interventions; TAVR Associated Coronary Artery Obstruction; Native Aortic Valve Failure; Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve Failure
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Heart Diseases; Body Temperature Changes; Heat Stress Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Hyperthermia; Heart Valve Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: 10000673; 000673-H

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Deidentified individual participant results data will be made available 6 months after publication date for a period of 5 year by sending a request.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will be made available 6 months after publication date for a period of 5 year
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Sending request to Robert.Lederman@nih.gov
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes