Dr. T.J. Buist has defended his PhD thesis titled ‘Advances in atrial fibrillation ablation technologies’ on 20th April 2021 at the Utrecht University.
To mark this monumental occasion, we briefly caught up with Thomas about his research.
Could you please tell us what your thesis is about?
Thomas explains: “Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia which can have a significant impact on a patient’s life. Among the treatment options is cardiac ablation, which is an invasive procedure to reduce atrial fibrillation occurrence and improve quality of life. Although effective, re-occurrence of the arrhythmia after ablation remains a problem.
In this thesis:
- We investigate existing ablation techniques for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.
- We identify factors that influence treatment success.
- We compare different ablation techniques and report on treatment success and safety.
- Furthermore, we present results of research on a new ablation technique, the so-called ‘irreversible electroporation’ for future use in atrial fibrillation ablation.
The results of this thesis contribute to further development of atrial fibrillation ablation technology aiming at improved success of the treatment.”
What was your most surprising finding?
“Perhaps not the most surprising, but the most exciting findings are that of research on the new ablation technology ‘irreversible electroporation’. We show in pre-clinical research that the technique might be useable in atrial fibrillation ablation. Results of recent studies on this new technique together with our findings are very promising. We’ll see more of this technique in the near future,” Thomas shares.
What’s next for you?
Thomas: “My focus now is to finish my training and become a cardiologist next year. Of course I’ll also want to continue participating in scientific research and contribute to further development of cardiology with a focus on electrophysiology. I’m excited what the future holds for me!”
Diagram B.V. congratulates Dr. Thomas Buist on this amazing achievement and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.
Dr. T.J. Buist’s research was supervised by promotor prof. dr. P.A.F.M. Doevendans (University Medical Center Utrecht) and copromotors dr. A. Elvan (Isala Zwolle) and dr. R. van Es (University Medical Center Utrecht).