62 results about "Catheter electrode" patented technology

A system and method is provided that allows for determining the local impedance of one or more electrodes of an electrode catheter. Such local impedance may be utilized to identify the relative position of an electrode catheter to a sheath of a guiding introducer. In another arrangement, local impedance of a catheter electrode can be utilized to calibrate a catheter electrode to provide improved contact sensing.

Systems for detecting when catheter electrodes enter into and exit from an introducer are disclosed. In one form, a system detects a relative position of a catheter (comprising a marker band and an electrode) and an introducer (comprising a proximity sensor adapted to sense the marker band), while the catheter and introducer are in a human body. The system may comprise an electronic control unit to analyze signals from the catheter and/or the introducer, to determine whether the catheter electrode is within the introducer; and to disregard data collected from the electrode when that electrode is in the introducer. The sensor may be on the catheter and the sensed element may be on the introducer. The sensed element may comprise one or several marker bands. A marker band may be applied during the manufacture of a medical device or during its use and is any element capable of electromagnetic detection.

Methods, systems, and devices for enhancing the efficiency and efficacy of energy delivery and tissue mapping. One system includes a treatment element having a plurality of electrodes and an energy generator that is configured to deliver electric energy pulses to the electrodes in a variety of patterns. For example, electrodes may be arranged in closely spaced pairs. The energy generator may deliver mapping energy to each electrode in each pair individually to map tissue and may deliver ablation energy to the electrodes in each pair together, such that each pair is treated like a single electrode, to deliver ablation energy, such as bipolar ablation energy between adjacent pairs. One system includes at least one concave electrode, the configuration of which concentrates the energy and drives it deeper into the tissue. One system includes neutral electrodes between active electrodes, the energy generator selectively coupling the neutral electrodes to alter the ablation pattern.

A system and method is described for a catheter guidance system which allows an operator to use a mapping catheter to specify tissue target locations for the automatic guidance of a second therapeutic catheter. The operator places a mapping catheter at a desired location, and commands the catheter guidance system by either selecting a point on that catheter or one of the catheter electrode electrocardiograms. The operator may target the selected dynamic location, or tissue contact beyond that location on a specific side of the mapping catheter.

The present invention is directed to a system, a method and a catheter that provide improved ablation capabilities and improved energy efficiency by selectively energizing catheter electrodes on the basis of impedance measurements. In particular, the invention is directed to the selective energization of catheter radial electrodes that together with a tip electrode form a generally continuous tissue contact surface, wherein the selection is made on the basis of impedance measurement as an indication of the amount of tissue contact of each radial electrode.

Cardiac catheterization is carried out by memorizing a designation of a contact state between an electrode of the probe and the heart wall as one of an in-contact state and an out-of-contact state, and making a series of determinations of an impedance phase angle of an electrical current passing through the electrode and another electrode, identifying maximum and minimum phase angles in the series, and defining a binary classifier adaptively as midway between the extremes. A test value is compared to the classifier as adjusted by a hysteresis factor, and a change in the contact state is reported when the test value exceeds or falls below the adjusted classifier.

An electrode for use on a medical device is disclosed. The electrode may have a main body of electrically conductive material extending along an axis and having a proximal end and a distal end. The body may be configured to emit electrical energy in accordance with a predefined diagnostic or therapeutic function. The body may have a groove disposed over an outermost surface of the body. The electrode may also include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tracking coil disposed in said groove. The MRI tracking coil may comprise electrically insulated wire, for example. A catheter including an electrode, as well as a method for determining the location of an electrode, are also disclosed.

Multi-phase RF ablation employing a two-dimensional or three-dimensional electrode array produces a multitude of currents paths on the surface of the ablation zone. This results in a uniform lesion with a size defined by the span of the electrode array. An orthogonal electrode catheter array suitable for cardiac ablation is used in conjunction with a two-phase RF power source to produce uniform square-shaped lesions of size 1.2 cm². Lesions of larger size are created by successive adjacent placement of the square-shaped lesions. A temperature sensor at the electrode tip allows monitoring of ablation temperature and regulation of thereof to minimize the electrode tips from being fouled by coagulum. In another embodiment, an external auxiliary electrode is used in combination with the catheter electrodes. This also produces lesions of greater depth. In yet another embodiment, ablation is performed with a sequence of elementary electrode-electrical configurations.

A system and method are provided for using neuromodulation techniques and intravesical electrical stimulation to treat Urinary Incontinence and related bladder-system conditions. The system uses an electrical stimulation module, stimulation electrodes and catheters, and/or a measurement and feedback system to determine an electrical stimulation therapy program as a function of a pre-programmed library and, optionally, measured and patient-provided response data. IVES and other electrical stimulation signals are generated and conveyed to the patient via catheter electrodes placed in and around the bladder system and related nerves, nodes and motor control points. The system employs a variety of safety mechanisms, including safety algorithms, a one-time use catheter connection, and catheter electrical-shock protection mechanisms.

The invention relates to an ablation catheter which controls the temperature and reduces the coagulation of biological fluids on an electrode of a catheter, prevents the impedance rise of tissue in contact with the electrode, and maximizes the potential energy transfer to the tissue, thereby allowing an increase in the lesion size produced by the ablation. The electrode includes passages positioned to allow saline flow out of an inner cavity of the electrode. This fluid flow is pulsatile to increase turbulence, reducing areas of stagnant flow, and produces a desired cooling effect.

A system and method for tracking catheter electrode locations with the body of a patient during an MRI scan sequence includes mitigation logic configured to identify one or more impedance measurements that were taken during potentially noise-inducing conditions (i.e., magnet gradients, RF pulses), and were thus subject to corruption by noise. The mitigation logic is configured to replace the potentially corrupt impedance measurements with previously-obtained impedance measurements taken from an immediately preceding acquisition cycle (e.g., from a previous time-slice).

The present disclosure provides electroporation systems, methods of controlling electroporation systems to limit electroporation arcs through intracardiac catheters, and catheters for electroporation systems. One method of controlling an electroporation system including a direct current (DC) energy source, a return electrode connected to the DC energy source, and a catheter connected to the DC energy source is disclosed. The catheter has a at least one catheter electrode. The method includes positioning the return electrode near a target location within a body and positioning the catheter electrode adjacent the target location within the body. A system impedance is determined with the return electrode positioned near the target location and the catheter electrode positioned within the body. The system impedance is adjusted to a target impedance to arcing from the catheter electrode.

Provided herein are systems and methods for use in identifying location of electrodes of a catheter within a three-dimensional space. The systems and methods initially predict locations of physical electrodes and/or physical magnetic sensors of the catheter in the three-dimensional space. Impedance and/or magnetic responses are predicted for the predicted locations. Actual measurements/responses (e.g., measured responses) are then obtained for the physical electrodes and/or physical sensors. Based on the predicted responses and the measured responses, the systems and methods generate calculated locations of electrodes and/or sensors in the three-dimensional space. The systems and method utilize information from both the predicted responses and the measured responses to produce the calculated locations, which may have an accuracy that is greater than locations produced by either the predicted responses or the measured responses.

A method and system for detecting a virtual electrode (VE) on a coronary sinus (CS) catheter in a fluoroscopic image sequence is disclosed. User inputs indicating locations of CS catheter electrodes and a location of a VE are received. A catheter electrode model and a VE part model is initialized in a first frame of the fluoroscopic image sequence. The VE is tracked by detecting electrode position candidates and catheter body point candidates in the subsequent frames of the fluoroscopic image sequence using respective trained detectors, tracking the catheter electrode model in the subsequent frames based on the detected electrode position candidates, generating VE part hypotheses in the subsequent frames based on detection of the most proximal electrode (MPE) in each subsequent frame, calculating a probability score for each of the VE part hypotheses, and selecting an VE part hypothesis with the highest probability score.