Intracardiac tools and methods for delivery of electroporation therapies

Abstract

A medical system, including a medical device having a plurality of deployable arms, and at least one electrode on at least one of the plurality of arms; and an electric signal generator in communication with the medical device, the electric signal generator programmed to deliver pulsed energy to the medical device sufficient to induce irreversible electroporation ablation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]n / aSTATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]n / aFIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present disclosure relates to medical systems and methods of use thereof for treating tissue, and more particularly, towards the treatment of cardiac tissue using high voltage energy delivery for irreversible electroporation (IEP) ablation.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]There are many medical treatments that involve instances of cutting, ablating, coagulating, destroying, or otherwise changing the physiological properties of tissue. These techniques can be used beneficially to change the electrophysiological properties of tissue, such as those associated with cardiac arrhythmias or other electrophysiological abnormalities. In particular, normal sinus rhythm of the heart begins with the sinoatrial node (“SA node”) generating a depolarization wave front. The impulse causes adjacent myocardial tissue cells in the atria to depolarize, w...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present disclosure provides a medical system that includes a medical device with a plurality of deployable arms, at least one electrode on each arm, and an electric signal generator programmed to deliver pulsed and / or biphasic energy to induce irreversible electroporation ablation of tissue. The system may also include a flexible catheter body and selectively extendable needle electrodes. The method of ablating cardiac tissue involves positioning the electrodes on the heart and conducting pulsed energy between them to induce electroporation ablation. The pulsed energy may include a plurality of monophasic or biphasic pulses, with each pulse having a cycle time of not more than 5 milliseconds. The system and method may provide improved precision and control for inducing electroporation ablation of cardiac tissue.

Problems solved by technology

Sometimes, anatomical obstacles in the atria or ventricles can lead to aberrant conductive pathways in heart tissue that disrupt the normal path of depolarization events.

However, these techniques are not without their potential drawbacks.

A cryogenic ablation procedure typically requires extended cryogenic application time.

During that time, over a liter of saline may be infused into the patient to cool an RF electrode, which may present a problem of fluid overload in fluid compromised patients.

Further, radiofrequency ablation may disrupt the cardiac endothelial surface, activate the extrinsic coagulation cascade, and lead to char and thrombus formation, which in turn may lead to systemic thromboembolism.

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