Topera

About Topera

Topera, Inc. operated as a medical device company focused on developing advanced technology for the diagnosis and treatment of complex cardiac arrhythmias. The company was founded in 2010 by Dr. Sanjiv Narayan and Ruchir Sehra in San Diego, California, to commercialize the Focal Impulse and Rotor Modulation (FIRM) technology that Dr. Narayan had developed. Dr. Narayan, a physician with a master's degree in software engineering, leveraged his background to create software that could map the irregular heartbeats characteristic of arrhythmias, aiming to improve the success rate of catheter ablation procedures.

Topera's core offering was the Topera 3D Mapping System, which catered to electrophysiologists. This system included the RhythmView™ Workstation and the FIRMap™ diagnostic catheter. The technology's purpose was to provide physicians with a dynamic, 3D map of the heart's electrical activity in near real-time. This allowed for the precise identification of patient-specific electrical sources, known as rotors, that sustain arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia. The FIRMap™ catheter, a key component, featured a spherical wire basket with 64 electrodes designed to expand and conform to the heart's chambers, capturing a panoramic view of its electrical signals. This detailed mapping guided surgeons in performing more targeted and effective catheter ablations.

The company achieved significant milestones, including receiving CE Mark and FDA 510(k) clearance for its RhythmView workstation and FIRMap catheter in 2013. Supported by venture capital funding totaling over $31 million, Topera was positioned for growth in the electrophysiology market. This culminated in its acquisition by Abbott Laboratories in October 2014 for an upfront payment of $250 million, plus potential future milestone payments. The acquisition marked Abbott's entry into the substantial and rapidly expanding catheter-based electrophysiology market.