Corewell doctor dies days before launch of heart technology he helped develop

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Corewell Health doctor who worked for over a decade to develop groundbreaking technology died suddenly, just days before he was set to lead the launch at a Michigan hospital.

Dr. David Haines was the medical director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak. Over the past 12 years, he worked to develop a Pulsed Field Ablation System to treat patients experiencing atrial fibrillation. AFib is an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm, according to Mayo Clinic. It is a progressive condition that affects over 59 million people worldwide.

The PFA System uses pulsed electric fields to isolate the pulmonary veins. Unlike traditional ablation technology, it does not cause unwanted injury to surrounding tissues.

Corewell Health became the first health system in the Midwest to successfully treat patients with that type of technology on Feb. 15, the hospital said in a release. Haines was set to lead the launch at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak before his death. Instead, Dr. Mishaki Mehta and Dr. Ilana Kutinsky led it.

“Dr. Haines was more than a partner and a friend,” Mehta said. “He was a world class researcher, innovator and a master teacher. I will channel my grief to continuing his legacy to advancing his field.”

The same procedure was also completed at Corewell Health Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids the same day by Dr. Andre Gauri. All procedures were successful and patients are recovering well, Corewell said.

Corewell did not say how Haines died.

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