Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
OMB APPROVAL
OMB Number: 3235-0104
Expires: January 31, 2005
Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Kennedy Patricia J
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
10/01/2011		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
AtriCure, Inc. [ATRC]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
6217 CENTRE PARK DRIVE		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
VP, GM, International
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

WEST CHESTER, OH 45069		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 12,954 (1)
D
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy) 02/10/2010(2) 02/10/2019 Common Stock 6,250 $ 1.5 D  
Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy) 02/17/2011(2) 02/17/2020 Common Stock 22,000 $ 5.6 D  
Non-Qualified Stock Option (right to buy) 02/09/2012(2) 02/09/2021 Common Stock 11,000 $ 11.2 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Kennedy Patricia J
6217 CENTRE PARK DRIVE
WEST CHESTER, OH 45069		       VP, GM, International  

Signatures

/s/ Julie A. Piton as Attorney-in-Fact for Patricia J. Kennedy 10/07/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Includes 12,000 shares of unvested restricted stock awarded under the AtriCure, Inc. 2005 Equity Incentive Plan.
(2) The option vests and is exercisable as to 25% of the shares one year from the date of grant and the remaining 75% thereafter vests and is exercisable in equal monthly installments on the same day of the month over the following three years.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB number.