Pulsed Field Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: An Initial Australian Single-Centre Experience.

BACKGROUND: Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is a newer ablation energy source with the potential to reduce complications and improve efficacy compared to conventional thermal atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. This study aimed to present an initial single-centre Australian experience of PFA for AF ablation. METHODS: Initial consecutive patients undergoing PFA for paroxysmal or persistent AF at a single centre were included. Baseline patient characteristics, procedural data and clinical outcomes were collected prospectively at the time of the procedure. Patients were followed up at 3 months and 6-monthly thereafter. RESULTS: In total, 100 PFA procedures were performed in 97 patients under general anaesthesia. All pulmonary veins (403 of 403) were successfully isolated acutely. Median follow-up was 218 days (range, 16-343 days), and the Kaplan-Meier estimate for freedom from atrial arrhythmias at 180 days was 87% (95% confidence interval 79%-95%). Median procedure time was 74 minutes (range, 48-134 minutes). Median fluoroscopy dose-area product was 345 µGym2 (interquartile range, 169-685 µGym2). Two (2%) pseudoaneurysm vascular access complications occurred. There were no cases of thromboembolic complications, stroke, phrenic nerve palsy, pulmonary vein stenosis, atrio-oesophageal fistula, or pericardial tamponade. CONCLUSIONS: Pulsed field ablation can be performed safely and efficiently, with encouraging efficacy in early follow-up. Further data and clinical trials will be required to assess the comparative utility of PFA in contemporary AF ablation practice.

Coherent manipulation of valley states at multiple charge configurations of a silicon quantum dot device.

Qubits based on silicon quantum dots are emerging as leading candidates for the solid-state implementation of quantum information processing. In silicon, valley states represent a degree of freedom in addition to spin and charge. Characterizing and controlling valley states is critical for the encoding and read-out of electrons-in-silicon-based qubits. Here, we report the coherent manipulation of a qubit, which is based on the two valley states of an electron confined in a silicon quantum dot. We carry out valley qubit operations at multiple charge configurations of the double quantum dot device. The dependence of coherent oscillations on pulse excitation level and duration allows us to map out the energy dispersion as a function of detuning as well as the phase coherence time of the valley qubit. The coherent manipulation also provides a method of measuring valley splittings that are too small to probe with conventional methods.Silicon quantum dots provide a promising platform for quantum computing based on manipulation of electron degrees of freedom in a well-characterized environment. Here, the authors demonstrate coherent control of electron valley states, yielding an accurate determination of the valley splitting.