Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Under Cone-beam Computed Tomography Fusion Image Guidance

Left atrial appendage occlusion is being widely recommended as a treatment strategy for patients with nonvalvular AF to prevent stroke, especially those who cannot tolerate long-term oral anticoagulation or have other reasons for nonpharmacologic therapy. Currently, there are a number of guidance for left atrial appendage occlusion, such as transesophageal echocardiography, intracardiac echocardiogram, fluoroscopy, computed tomographic/computed tomographic angiography and so on. Procedures such as atrial septal puncture, device size selection and operational view are guided by different methods in various centers. Our center has developed a new approach to guidance: Cone-beam CT and cardiac computed tomographic angiography were combined by three-dimensional - three-dimensional image fusion in guiding left atrial appendage occlusion.