(upbeat music) - I think it's very exciting and we have been waiting for this because we knew that it was a better system.

This was something that was a long time incoming.

The concept is to mechanically occlude the appendage reliably, and the older version did that, but it was a little cagey, a little bit sharp.

there were certain anatomies that were riskier.

(upbeat music) It seals much more reliably than the previous device and is much more stable, so in every way, this does its job much better than the previous Watchman did.

(upbeat music) - Testing that we need for the FDA, we actually saw a much lower rate of a peri-device leak that we used to see with the initial device.

The initial device was about 33% of the patient have some leaks around the device, with the new device, the Watchman FLX.

we see less in less than 5%.

So it's a huge difference and the delivery of the system is much easier for even less experienced operator.

So certainly a safer procedure overall.

(upbeat music) Go with this large delivery system into the mouth of the appendage and you take picture to see what is the proper size.

That's another very critical part of the procedure, because if you undersize the appendage and use a small system, then there is a chance this system is not gonna stay there, it might dislodge.

- This would be the device that's inside the delivery sheath and inside it's a containment sheath.

And once you're positioned correctly, you basically just push it right out and it immediately closes, just like that.

Then you simply unscrew it, (upbeat music) and leave it - Another benefit, the new device can be recapture as many times as you want, with the old device, if you recapture twice, you need to remove it and use a new one because it become more dangerous.

The new device can be recapture as many times as you want.

So you really can spend time to optimize the deployment at the best sites so that you have the best outcome for the patient.

- The new device, the biggest advance, I think of it is that all of those metal struts actually fold back and connect together.

So when this device is partially out, it forms a very soft, a traumatic ball, rather than 10 little spikes, it has a ball.

And so that alone makes the likelihood of success without a mechanical injury to the heart, much more likely.

- You know, being able to now be able to use it for everybody.

Certainly, you know, as a doctor, you know, it's a good feeling.

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