Boston Scientific recently announced acquisition of Cryterion Medical, Inc., a company developing a cryoablation platform to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), positioning it in the growing electrophysiology market.

The GlobalData research organization reports that this move will position Boston Scientific to challenge Medtronic, which is currently the only player in the cryoablation market with its Arctic Front system.

ClabalData says, “With the increasing incidence of AF, the electrophysiology market is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. Estimated at $1.6b in 2016, the market is growing at a compound annual rate of 4.7 percent. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is still the preferred treatment choice, but cryoablation, which uses extreme cold to kill tissue, has gained momentum through successful clinical trial results that showed similar patient outcomes to patients treated using RF ablation catheters. Cryoablation is much simpler to use than RF, is potentially safer and has fewer post-procedural complications.”