DYNAMITE-VT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Dynamic Voltage Mapping to personalise the ventricular tachycardia substrate
IRAS ID
353571
Contact name
Vishal Luther
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 4 days
Research summary
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a life-threatening heart rhythm disorder and the commonest cause of heart-related sudden death. It often affects people who have had a heart attack or other structural heart damage. VT occurs when abnormal electrical circuits develop within and around scar tissue in the heart.
People at risk are usually offered an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), a device that can detect VT and deliver a lifesaving shock. While effective, these shocks can be sudden, painful and distressing. Medications can also help, but they are often unsuitable for long-term use due to their potential side effects on the liver, lungs and thyroid gland.
An alternative is catheter ablation. Thin tubes (catheters) are threaded from a blood vessel in the groin to the heart, allowing the cardiologist to identify scar tissue and abnormal electrical circuits, which can be destroyed using heat energy.
Although ablation can help many patients, VT can return in up to one in three people after the procedure. This is because it can be difficult to precisely identify the scar and surrounding tissue that sustain the abnormal circuits, making it challenging to know exactly where to apply ablation treatment.
Our research group has developed a new technique called Dynamic Voltage Mapping, which we believe can more accurately identify scar and the critical bordering tissue during ablation. Initial data we have collected suggests that our approach accurately predicts the VT circuit and helps guide ablation.
We wish to recruit 40 participants undergoing VT ablation to determine how effective Dynamic Voltage Mapping is in real-world procedures. In 20 randomised participants, we will use these specialised maps to guide our ablation treatment to see how effective it is at getting rid of VT.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NW/0061
Date of REC Opinion
13 Mar 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion