Interactive Ablation Workflow System Using Iterative Cardiogram Refinement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for identifying the source location of heart disorders during arrhythmia treatments are complex, costly, and prone to complications, with existing technologies often requiring expensive and cumbersome equipment and leading to potential delays in identifying unsuccessful ablations, which can be life-threatening.
Innovation Solution
An interactive ablation workflow system that uses patient arrhythmia cardiograms to identify target locations for ablation, employing mapping techniques and machine learning models to refine the target location, and iteratively adjusts the ablation procedure until successful, utilizing a pacing source to elicit arrhythmia and collect cardiograms for precise targeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a multi-electrode basket catheter is inserted intravascularly to collect electrical activity measurements, then arrhythmia source location can be identified, but serious complications including cardiac perforation and tamponade occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a pacing source as an intermediary device that can be positioned near the arrhythmia source without requiring direct intravascular insertion. The pacing source delivers paced beats through the heart wall to elicit arrhythmia, avoiding the need for complex basket catheters while reducing perforation risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical basket catheter system with an electrical pacing system. Instead of using physical electrodes inserted into the heart to detect electrical activity, the system uses paced electrical beats to induce and capture arrhythmia, simplifying the mechanical complexity while maintaining measurement capability.
2Measurement precision
If a body surface vest with electrodes is used to collect measurements, then arrhythmia source location can be identified, but the vest is expensive, complex and difficult to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of arrhythmia induction and capture from the complex body surface vest system. By using a simple pacing source that can be positioned near the heart, the system eliminates the need for extensive electrode arrays and complex vest structures while maintaining the ability to identify arrhythmia sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified model of arrhythmia induction using paced beats that replicate the electrical activation pattern. This copying approach allows the system to study arrhythmia mechanics without requiring the complex measurement infrastructure of body surface vests.
3Measurement precision
If a body surface vest is used for analysis, then arrhythmia source location can be identified, but resolution is suboptimal for the interventricular and interatrial septa where approximately 20% of arrhythmia sources occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning the pacing source specifically near the arrhythmia source rather than using distributed body surface electrodes. This localized approach allows high-resolution capture of electrical activity at critical locations such as the interventricular and interatrial septa, where arrhythmia sources are most likely to occur.
4Productivity
If ablation is performed without iterative refinement, then the procedure is faster, but the accuracy of target location identification is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by capturing arrhythmia during and after ablation attempts, then using this information to refine the target location for subsequent ablation. This iterative feedback loop continues until the arrhythmia can no longer be elicited, ensuring high accuracy while maintaining procedural efficiency through automated analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for treating a patient with an arrhythmia. In some embodiments, the method collects a first patient arrhythmia cardiogram from the patient. The method identifies a first target location and a first ablation pattern associated with a first library arrhythmia cardiogram that is similar to the first patient arrhythmia cardiogram. The method then performs a first ablation near the first target location, factoring in the first ablation pattern, and after the ablation, collects a second patient arrhythmia cardiogram of the patient. The method continues to identify a second target location and a second ablation pattern associated with a second library arrhythmia cardiogram that is similar to the second patient arrhythmia cardiogram. The second library arrhythmia cardiogram is identified, in part, based on ablation characteristics of the first ablation. The method then performs a second ablation near the second target location, factoring in the second ablation pattern.