Mapping ablation catheter

Abstract

A mapping ablation catheter is provided comprising: a catheter conduit having a hollow inner space in which a guide member is disposed; a monitoring electrode unit arranged to surround the outer circumferential surface of the distal portion of the catheter conduit and perform a mapping on the lesion region by being in side-contact with a cardiac organ; an ablation electrode unit arranged to be spaced apart from the monitoring electrode unit and surround the outer circumferential surface of the distal portion of the catheter conduit and which removes the lesion region; a plurality of liquid discharge holes arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the ablation electrode; a current application unit which applies current to the monitoring electrode unit and the ablation electrode unit; and a liquid supply unit having a liquid supply tube, one end of the liquid-supply tube connected to the liquid discharge holes in the catheter conduit.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a mapping ablation catheter, in particular to a mapping ablation catheter which performs a catheter operation stably by increasing a contact area between lesion region and ablation electrode for removing lesion region.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Heart beat is performed when a muscle of cardiac organ is stimulated in consecutive order by an electric signal generated periodically from a portion of cardiac organ. However, if there is something wrong with the electric signal flow, a correct heart beat cannot be carried out. This is so-called cardiac arrhythmia.[0003]Fibrillation of heart is the most common continuous arrhythmia and may increase heart rate up to 100 to 175 per minute or more. Fibrillation of heart may cause the frequency of symptom (e.g., atrial flutter, not normal contraction) to be high and may be linked to various aftereffects such as stroke, blood pooling, blood clot, etc.[0004]Treatment of cardiac arrhythmia was quite ch...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025]According to the present invention, a monitoring electrode, a liquid discharge hole and an ablation electrode are arranged in consecutive order in a direction from the end of the distal portion to the proximal portion of the catheter conduit, differently from a conventional catheter having an ablation electrode at the end of the distal portion of the catheter. Therefore, the catheter of the invention can increase the contact area between the ablation electrode and the lesion region so that an electric current can be provided to the lesion region even when the position of the catheter conduit is changed slightly due to the heart beat, whereby the operator can perform a catheter operation more stably.

[0013]Preferably, a mapping ablation catheter according to the first embodiment has a distal portion which is inserted into a human body to cure a lesion region, and the catheter comprises: a catheter conduit having a hollow inner space in which a guide member is disposed; a monitoring electrode unit which is arranged to surround the outer circumferential surface of the distal portion of the catheter conduit and which performs a mapping on the lesion region by being in side-contact with a cardiac organ when the catheter conduit is inserted into the cardiac organ; an ablation electrode unit which is arranged to be spaced apart from the monitoring electrode unit and to surround the outer circumferential surface of the distal portion of the catheter conduit and which removes the lesion region when current is applied; a plurality of liquid discharge holes which are arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the ablation electrode; a current application unit which applies current to the monitoring electrode unit and the ablation electrode unit; and a liquid supply unit which has a liquid supply tube, one end of the liquid-supply tube being connected to the liquid discharge holes in the catheter conduit.

[0027]Further, according to the invention, a monitoring electrode, a liquid discharge hole and an ablation electrode are arranged in consecutive order in a direction from the end of the distal portion to the proximal portion of the catheter conduit such that liquid discharged from the liquid discharge hole is discharged uniformly to the monitoring electrode and the ablation electrode. Therefore, the electric conductivity of the monitoring electrode and the ablation electrode can be increased and the mapping and the ablation of lesion regions can be carried out more efficiently.

[0011]Another object of the present invention is to provide a mapping ablation catheter which can detect lesion regions on the cardiac organ with a minimum mapping using a plurality of mapping electrodes, and which can remove lesion regions simultaneously by the plurality of ablation electrodes.

Problems solved by technology

However, if there is something wrong with the electric signal flow, a correct heart beat cannot be carried out.

However, due to the heart beat, it is difficult to adjust the position of the catheter stably so as to make the ablation electrode contact with the lesion precisely.

Meanwhile, in case that a plurality of monitoring electrodes for detecting lesion region are attached on the distal end, as can be seen in KR Patent 10-0949436, a catheter is not provided with ablation electrodes and therefore it is difficult of a catheter having a plurality of monitoring electrodes to perform both a mapping and an ablation.

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