Methods and apparatus for treatment of atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for the treatment of atrial fibrillation are described herein where tissue to be ablated may be monitored under direct visualization. Such a system may include a deployment catheter and an attached imaging hood deployable into an expanded configuration. In use, the imaging hood is placed against or adjacent to the tissue to be imaged in a body lumen that is normally filled with an opaque bodily fluid such as blood. A translucent or transparent fluid can be pumped into the imaging hood until the fluid displaces any blood leaving a clear region of tissue to be imaged via an imaging element in the deployment catheter. An ablation probe may be advanced into the contained region where the tissue may be ablated and monitored for changes in color as well as appropriate positioning.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to the following U.S. Prov. Pat. App. Ser. Nos. 60 / 806,923; 60 / 806,924; and 60 / 806,926 each filed Jul. 10, 2006; this is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 259,498 filed Oct. 25, 2005, which claims priority to U.S. Prov. Pat. App. Ser. No. 60 / 649,246 filed Feb. 2, 2005. Each application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to medical devices used for accessing, visualizing, and / or treating regions of tissue within a body. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for accessing, visualizing, and / or treating conditions such as atrial fibrillation within a patient heart. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Conventional devices for visualizing interior regions of a body lumen are known. For example, ultrasound devices have been used to produce imag...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, such imaging balloons have many inherent disadvantages.

For instance, such balloons generally require that the balloon be inflated to a relatively large size which may undesirably displace surrounding tissue and interfere with fine positioning of the imaging system against the tissue.

Moreover, the working area created by such inflatable balloons are generally cramped and limited in size.

Furthermore, inflated balloons may be susceptible to pressure changes in the surrounding fluid.

For example, if the environment surrounding the inflated balloon undergoes pressure changes, e.g., during systolic and diastolic pressure cycles in a beating heart, the constant pressure change may affect the inflated balloon volume and its positioning to produce unsteady or undesirable conditions for optimal tissue imaging.

Accordingly, these types of imaging modalities are generally unable to provide desirable images useful for sufficient diagnosis and therapy of the endoluminal structure, due in part to factors such as dynamic forces generated by the natural movement of the heart.

Moreover, anatomic structures within the body can occlude or obstruct the image acquisition process.

Also, the presence and movement of opaque bodily fluids such as blood generally make in vivo imaging of tissue regions within the heart difficult.

However, such imaging modalities fail to provide real-time imaging for intra-operative therapeutic procedures.

However, fluoroscopy fails to provide an accurate image of the tissue quality or surface and also fails to provide for instrumentation for performing tissue manipulation or other therapeutic procedures upon the visualized tissue regions.

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