69 results about "Catheter ablation" patented technology

A method and apparatus for ablation of a layer of tissue is achieved by providing first and second bodies on opposed sides of the tissue. The first body includes a first ablation member and a source of magnetic force adjacent one side of the tissue. The second body includes a second ablation member and a magnetically attractive element responsive to the magnetic force adjacent the other side of the tissue. The magnetic attraction between the source and the attractive element is adapted to align the first and second bodies in opposed relationship on the opposed sides of the tissue. One of the first and second bodies may include at least one expandible member for controlling the magnetic attraction between the bodies.

A method and system for detecting microbubble formation during a radiofrequency ablation procedure. The method includes measuring an impedance of a pair of electrodes, at least one electrode in the pair of electrodes being coupled to a treatment assembly of a medical device. Radiofrequency ablation energy is transmitted between the pair of electrodes. The transmission of radiofrequency ablation energy between the pair of electrodes is terminated when after a predetermined period of time the measured impedance in either of the electrodes in the pair of electrodes is a predetermined percentage above a measured minimum impedance and a measured power is above a predetermined power threshold. An alert is generated indicating at least one of the formation and release of microbubbles proximate the pair of electrodes.

A method for identifying and localizing a reentrant circuit isthmus in a heart of a subject during sinus rhythm, including: a) receiving electrogram signals from the heart during sinus rhythm via electrodes; b) storing the electrogram signals; c) creating a map based on the electrogram signals; d) finding a center reference activation location on the map; e) defining measurement vectors originating from the center reference activation location; f) selecting from the measurement vectors a primary axis vector indicating a location of the reentrant circuit isthmus in the heart; g) finding threshold points of electrogram signals on the map; h) connecting the threshold points to form a polygon indicating a shape of the reentrant circuit isthmus in the heart.

Ablation of cardiac tissue is carried out by inserting a probe having an ablation electrode and a plurality of microelectrodes into a body of a living subject to establish contact between two of the microelectrodes and target tissue, and energizing the ablation electrode. While the ablation electrode is energized impedances are measured between the microelectrodes, and the power level of the ablation electrode adjusted according to the impedances.

In order to perform balloon ablation and spot ablation by one ablation catheter without exchanging an ablation catheter body at the time of treatment by catheter ablation, an ablation catheter with a balloon is provided with a catheter shaft, a balloon which is mounted to the front end side in the longitudinal direction of the catheter shaft, a lumen which communicates with the balloon from the end face on the back end side in the abovementioned longitudinal direction, an in-balloon electrode and an in-balloon temperature sensor which are disposed in the balloon, and a front end electrode and a front end temperature sensor which are mounted in a front end region including the end face on the front end side in the abovementioned longitudinal direction.

A catheter design for ablating AF based upon the true anatomy of the left atrium and especially the left atrial pulmonary vein junction, obtained by unique imaging techniques. The catheter design will conform to the true anatomy of the anatomical structures to be ablated and takes into account the complex 3-D geometry of the left atrium and the various sizes and shapes of the pulmonary veins and their openings into the left atrium.

The invention relates to a temperature probe (1) for insertion into the human or animal body, having an unfoldable balloon (2) on a catheter (5), on the outer skin (3) of which balloon (2) one or more temperature sensors (10) is / are disposed. The catheter (5) can be moved by way of a cable (9, 11) and according to one aspect of the invention an ultrasound sensor is disposed on its tip. Position sensors (12) can also be provided on the outer skin of the balloon (2). The temperature probe (1) is used to monitor the temperature distribution in the esophagus (6) during a catheter ablation.

A system and method of treating tachycardias and similar syndromes by the use of catheter ablation of tissue is described. A computed tomography (CT)-like image of the heart is obtained and processed to segment the various types of tissue. Papillary muscle areas are identified and displayed differently from the other nearby tissues so that the muscles can be avoided during treatment to avoid or minimize damage to the muscles during ablation treatment. Electrophysical data and scar tissue may also be identified in the image, which may be of the endoscopic type. The position of the catheter may be displayed as a synthetic image on the endoscopic view.

A computer based ablation interface system provides useful information for monitoring catheter ablations, especially left sided ablations for atrial fibrillation. Such a system provides added safety, by providing useful information during the ablation procedure. The system comprises a computer, specialized software, analog and digital input / output board, transducer, and display. The information displayed includes both electrical parameters and physiological parameters. In one aspect of the invention alarms and indicators are displayed on the screen for highlighting certain events to the physicians, for guiding them through the ablation procedure. In another aspect of the invention, the system comprises circuitry for automatically switching the ablation circuit off, based on pre-determined events.

An isolated heart or heart-lung preparation in which essentially normal pumping activity of all four chambers of the heart is preserved, allowing for the use of the preparation in conjunction with investigations of electrode leads, catheters, ablation methods, cardiac implants and other medical devices intended to be used in or on a beating heart. The system can be designed to be used within a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit or a X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. The preparation may also be employed to investigate heart and lung functions, in the presence or absence of such medical devices. In order to allow comparative imaging visualizations of either or simultaneously the heart and / or lung structures and devices located within the chambers of the heart or vessels or bronchi within the lungs, a clear perfusate such as a modified Krebs buffer solution with oxygenation is circulated through all four chambers of the heart and thus the coronary and / or pulmonary vasculatures. A ventilator with intubation tube can be used to inflate / deflate the lungs and / or provide oxygen to the isolated organs. The preparation and recordings of the preparation may be used in conjunction with the design, development and evaluation of devices for use in or on the heart and / or lungs, as well as for use as an investigational and teaching aid to assist physicians and students in understanding the operation of the cardiopulmonary system.

The invention relates to a temperature probe for insertion into the human or animal body, having an unfoldable balloon on a catheter, on the outer skin of which balloon one or more temperature sensors is or are disposed. The catheter can be moved by way of a cable and according to one aspect of the invention an ultrasound sensor is disposed on its tip. Position sensors can also be provided on the outer skin of the balloon. The temperature probe is used to monitor the temperature distribution in the esophagus during a catheter ablation.

A system and method of treating tachycardias and similar syndromes by the use of catheter ablation of tissue is described. A computed tomography (CT)-like image of the heart is obtained and processed to segment the various types of tissue. Papillary muscle areas are identified and displayed differently from the other nearby tissues so that the muscles can be avoided during treatment to avoid or minimize damage to the muscles during ablation treatment. Electrophysical data and scar tissue may also be identified in the image, which may be of the endoscopic type. The position of the catheter may be displayed as a synthetic image on the endoscopic view.

Atrial arrhythmias, a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity, are believed to be influenced by autonomic nervous system tone. The main purpose of this invention was to highlight new findings that have emerged in the study of effects of autonomic nervous system tone on atrial arrhythmias, and its interaction with class III antiarrhythmic drug effects. This invention evaluates the significance of sympathetic and parasympathetic activation by determining the effects of autonomic nervous system using a vagal and stellar ganglions stimulation, and by using autonomic nervous system neurotransmitters infusion (norepinephrine, acetylcholine). This invention evaluates the autonomic nervous system effects on the atrial effective refractory period duration and dispersion, atrial conduction velocity, atrial wavelength duration, excitable gap duration during a stable circuit (such atrial flutter circuit around an anatomical obstacle), and on the susceptibility of occurrence (initiation, maintenance and termination) of atrial re-entrant arrhythmias in canine. This invention also evaluates whether autonomic nervous system activation effects via a local neurotransimitters infusion into the right atria can alter those of class III antiarrhythmic drug, sotalol, during a sustained right atrial flutter. This invention represents an emergent need to set-up and develop a new class of anti-cholinergic drug therapy for the treatment of atrial arrhythmias and to combine this new anti-cholinergic class to antiarrhythmic drugs. Furthermore, this invention also highlights the importance of a local application of parasympathetic neurotransmitters / blockers and a catheter ablation of the area of right atrium with the highest density of parasympathetic fibers innervation. This may significantly reduce the occurrence of atrial arrhythmias and may preserve the antiarrhythmic effects of any drugs used for the treatment of atrial re-entrant arrhythmias.

The invention discloses a non-invasive intracardiac hyperexcitability point positioning method based on a stack type auto-encoder. The method mainly includes a training stage and a prediction stage. At the training stage, acquired QRS data serves as input, three-dimensional coordinates of corresponding mapping points of the QRS data serve as labels to train the auto-encoder, input data is preprocessed through the denoising auto-encoder, in the process of learning high-dimensional information, an upper layer of all variable factors is utilized, the result is more precise, and finally the stack type auto-encoder is established. At the prediction stage, an input data set x in a test set is input in a trained stack type model, and the final coordinate prediction result (x-y-z) is obtained on the output layer of the model. Position prediction of VT hyperexcitability points is achieved on the aspect of data drive, and the problems of time and labor waste of clinical catheter ablation is effectively solved.

A catheter for treating tissue is disclosed, the catheter having slotted openings on a circumference of its distal portion, wherein each slotted opening spans at least about 25% of the circumference of the catheter. The disclosed catheter is capable of treating a variety of tissue in a variety of configurations. For example, in an ablation catheter of the disclosed invention, the slotted openings on the distal portion allow the ablation catheter to create effective lesions in both the pulmonary veins and the posterior wall of the left atrium. The ablation catheter preferably carries a conductive medium to help deliver ablation energy (e.g., RF) to the tissue being ablated. The configuration of the catheter permits ablation to be conducted in many varieties and geometric orientations independently of the tissue orientation. Also disclosed is a method of ablating tissue using catheter with slotted openings.

A dual catheter ablation system with an arterial catheter and a venous catheter and at least two magnetic elements, a first magnetic element placed in the arterial catheter and a second magnetic element placed in the venous catheter, where at least one of the arterial catheter or the venous catheter carries an ablating electrode. The first magnetic element has a predefined polarity and the second magnetic element has an opposite polarity with respect to the pre-defined polarity. A protective sheath is provided for enclosing the catheter pair, the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element. The dual catheter ablation system is configured to be placed inside an anatomical region such that a target tissue is in between the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element, bringing the ablating electrode in close proximity to a target tissue.

In order to perform balloon ablation and spot ablation by one ablation catheter without exchanging an ablation catheter body at the time of treatment by catheter ablation, an ablation catheter with a balloon is provided with a catheter shaft, a balloon which is mounted to the front end side in the longitudinal direction of the catheter shaft, a lumen which communicates with the balloon from the end face on the back end side in the abovementioned longitudinal direction, an in-balloon electrode and an in-balloon temperature sensor which are disposed in the balloon, and a front end electrode and a front end temperature sensor which are mounted in a front end region including the end face on the front end side in the abovementioned longitudinal direction.

There are provided an apparatus and a method for blocking abnormal conduction in the cardiac muscle using a photodynamic therapy or for treating arrhythmia. There is provided a catheter ablation apparatus for the treatment of arrhythmia using a photodynamic therapy, comprising a catheter leading a photoradiation unit to an abnormal electrical conduction site or a hyperexcitability occurring site in the cardiac muscle of a test subject in which a photosensitizer is present by administering the photosensitizer beforehand and which causes arrhythmia, means for generating a light ray with which the abnormal electrical conduction site or the hyperexcitability occurring site is irradiated, and means for transmitting the light ray to the abnormal electrical conduction site or the hyperexcitability occurring site, wherein the photosensitizer used is a water-soluble chlorine-based photosensitizer and the light ray used is a light ray having an excitation wavelength equal to that of the photosensitizer.

The invention relates to a device and to a method for visual assistance during the electrophysiological use of a catheter in the heart, enabling electroanatomic 3D mapping data relating to an area of the heart to be treated to be visualised during the use of the catheter. Before the catheter is used, 3D image data of a body region containing the area to be treated is detected by means of a method for tomographic 3D imaging. The area to be treated or significant parts thereof are extracted from said 3D image data, in order to obtain selected 3D image data. The electroanatomic 3D mapping data and the selected 3D image data obtained are then classed in terms of position and dimension, and are adjacently visualised, for example, during the catheter ablation. The inventive method and associated device enable the orientation of the operator to be improved during the use of a catheter in the heart.

The invention discloses an intracardiac abnormal activation point positioning model construction method based on CNN and LSTM, and the model can achieve the good positioning of the specific position of a VT abnormal activation point under the condition that the 12-lead body surface potential data of a patient is obtained, and obtains the three-dimensional coordinates of the position. According tothe invention, the idea of deep learning is introduced into ventricular tachycardia abnormal excitation point positioning; in the training stage, the collected QRS data is used as input; the three-dimensional coordinates of the QRS data corresponding to the mapping points are taken as labels to train a CNN-LSTM network, feature extraction is performed on the input data by using Conv1D, feature fusion is performed on a time domain by using LSTM, regression prediction is performed on the three-dimensional coordinates by using a full connection layer, and finally the CNN-LSTM network is constructed. According to the network model, the position prediction of the VT abnormal activation point is realized from the perspective of data driving, and the time-consuming and labor-consuming problems ofcatheter ablation in clinic are effectively solved.

A method and device that provide improved visualization of soft tissue, such as renal arteries, renal veins and lymph nodes in guiding catheter placement and positioning in the renal region or vasculature. The method and device enable visualization of an electrophysiology catheter application in the renal region which provides for improved imaging of renal structures, including renal arteries, along with one or more adjacent anatomical structures, including renal veins, lymph nodes, other adjacent organs and and / or other adjacent soft tissues that may adversely impact the formation of a lesion during a catheter ablation procedure in or around a renal artery.

A non-invasive method of producing a three-dimensional cardiac electrogram characteristic map for use in catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia includes receiving left ventricle three-dimensional image data of a patient's heart; segmenting a left ventricle image of the patient's heart based on the left ventricle three-dimensional image data into scar tissue, normal myocardium tissue and left ventricle cavity regions; determining scar tissue thickness and normal myocardium tissue thickness for a plurality of portions of the left ventricle image of the patient's heart; receiving predetermined data that associate a value of at least one electrogram characteristic to each scar tissue thickness and each normal myocardium tissue thickness for the plurality of portions of said left ventricle image of said patient's heart; and generating the three-dimensional cardiac electrogram characteristic map of the at least one electrogram characteristic corresponding to the left ventricle image of the patient's heart based on the predetermined data.

A method and device are described to form a sensor using a cardiomyocyte by advancing a catheter into the tissue of interest, cardiac in the preferred embodiment, and using the catheter to ablate a cone- or a dome-shaped region to form an electrically isolated section of tissue. An electrode is later fixed to the region encompassed by the dome-shaped area of tissue and used to detect the electrophysiological activity of this electrically independent cluster of cells. These cells combined with the electrode and a detection circuitry will form a cell-based sensor to monitor the effects of the anti-arrhythmic drugs in the circulation. The inventive device includes an ablation catheter and a sensing lead. Catheter is a hollow conductor which used to carry RF power from the external generator to the myocardium and to form a cone-shaped ablation zone to electrically isolate a part of myocardium from the rest. Sensing lead is a conductor that carries electrical signals from the isolated myocardium back to the implanted monitoring device. Implantable device is the main unit for processing the signals coming back from the sensing lead.

Methods and systems for assessing cardiac fibrillogenicity in a patient includes generating a map of a duration of one or more measurements indicative of a number of electrical circuit cores and distribution of the electrical circuit cores across a cardiac tissue substrate in the patient's heart in response to electrical activity in the cardiac tissue substrate, the map being registered onto a representation of the patient's heart, applying a set of executable instructions to the map to define an optimal placement of at least one ablation lesion in the cardiac tissue substrate, and calculating total length of the at least one ablation lesion, wherein the total length measure is indicative of the patient's cardiac fibrillogenicity to inform treatment using catheter ablation.

The invention relates to a catheter ablation device and a radiofrequency ablation catheter of the catheter ablation device. A continuous ablation kitchen can be formed by the catheter ablation device and the radiofrequency ablation catheter. The radiofrequency ablation catheter comprises a body, an extending section, an annular section and an annular electrode, the body, the extending section and the annular section are sequentially connected, the annular electrode is arranged on the annular section and provided with an ablation part, and the ablation part is continuously formed on the annular section. The radiofrequency ablation catheter is provided with the continuous annular electrode, the number of ablation times can be remarkably decreased, and the continuous ablation kitchen can be formed.

To visually support a catheter ablation in the heart, three-dimensional image data have been used prior to the intervention. During ablation, the position of the catheter is pinpointed by an orientation system. The orientation system acquires electroanatomical 3D mapping data. the two-dimensional image data is assigned to the 3D mapping data in the correct position and dimensions which is a time-consuming step. The invention makes provision for the orientation system being in a fixed location relative to the X-ray system so that a positionally and dimensionally correct alignment of the X-ray image data set with the 3D mapping data is no longer required. An image or surface based 3D-3D alignment of the three-dimensional data acquired prior to the intervention with the three-dimensional X-ray image data is considerably less time-consuming than alignment thereof with the 3D mapping data and is more reliable because more structures is recognized in the three-dimensional X-ray image data.

The invention provides an atrial fibrillation catheter ablation simulator based on optical binocular positioning. The atrial fibrillation catheter ablation simulator comprises a data processing platform and a man-machine interactive system, wherein the data processing platform comprises a patient heart database, three-dimensional tracking software and operation simulation software, and the man-machine interactive system comprises an optical binocular camera, an operation platform and an ablation catheter. The atrial fibrillation catheter ablation simulator is used for training doctors for atrial fibrillation catheter ablation operations, the success rate of atrial fibrillation catheter ablation can be increased, and the risk of complications related to the operations is reduced.

The invention provides a kit for assessing the risk of late recurrence after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. The kit is used for determining the content of plasma TMAO. The recurrence risk of patients with atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation can be effectively assessed through determination of TMAO in the plasma of the patients so that doctors can assess the recurrence risk of the patients with atrial fibrillation in the late stage before the catheter ablation and then designate targeted treatment schemes to provide timely and effective treatment for the patients.