Atrial fibrillation, more commonly known as A-fib or AF, is a heart condition marked by a rapid and irregular heartbeat. If untreated, it puts people who have it at increased risk of heart failure or having a stroke. 

Most of us know someone affected by AF — tens of millions of people around the globe suffer from it. The condition is caused by misfiring electrical signals in the heart. Doctors can treat it with a procedure called ablation, which can disrupt and normalize the signals — but only if they know which area of the heart to target. That can be frustratingly difficult to determine.

Vermont-based med-tech startup CoreMap aims to make it easier. Its promising proprietary mapping technology could offer a way of visualizing A-fib, which would help doctors “see” AF and target treatment.

CoreMap’s technology has been decades in the making. It’s based on the research of UVM Medical Center cardiologist Peter Spector. Experts in the field who’ve assessed its potential have described it as “a quantum leap” in the treatment of patients with AF. 

To make that vision a reality, Spector cofounded a med-tech startup, CoreMap, with CEO Sarah Kalil. A native Vermonter and UVM engineering grad with a law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, Kalil has held leadership positions in numerous med-tech companies, mostly out of state. In 2017, she returned to Vermont to take on the challenge of turning Spector’s research into an approved medical device that could have a positive impact on the millions of people affected by AF. Since then, the company has raised $33 million toward achieving its goal. Read more about Kalil and CoreMap in Chelsea Edgar’s story “Tough AF: CoreMap CEO Sarah Kalil is building a better way to treat atrial fibrillation,” in this week’s Seven Days.

If CoreMap is able to grow in Vermont, the company could have a significant impact on the state’s economy. CoreMap’s analysis indicates that making even four percent more AF sufferers eligible for effective treatment could bring the company $1.4 billion in product revenue.

To do that, CoreMap must first navigate a complicated regulatory landscape. For help in that process, Kalil turned to another collaborator — a Shelburne resident who’d been through it all before: inventor, investor and philanthropist John Abele. 

In 1979, Abele famously cofounded medical device company Boston Scientific, driven by a conviction that medical interventions could be less invasive and more accessible. The company was one of the early manufacturers of ablation catheters — one of thousands of products it’s developed that now affect the lives of millions. A recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Gold Medal Award, the group’s highest honor, Abele, who initially earned a degree in physics and philosophy at Amherst College, has received honorary degrees from several universities, including UVM. 

He’s renowned for his generosity. In 1997, Abele established the Argosy Foundation. Through it, he and his family have given away more than $100 million to organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Center for Biological Diversity, and local nonprofits, including COTS and Shelburne Farms.

Abele is also a champion of FIRST Robotics. He served as the U.S. chair of the organization from 2002 to 2010 and has supported FIRST teams in Vermont — including through a new, multi-year $375,000 grant. FIRST’s impact on local kids is the subject of Alison Novak’s story, “Machines With a Mission,” in Seven Days.