Bendable Electrode Spline Basket for Vascular Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ablation technologies for treating arrhythmia, such as radio-frequency ablation, face challenges in improving efficiency and safety, and achieving rapid and effective treatment of arrhythmia diseases like atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmia, with limitations in adapting to varying vascular sizes and achieving comprehensive tissue ablation.
Innovation Solution
The development of an ablation system with bendable electrodes, featuring a spline basket and annular catheter design that allows for adjustable positioning and larger ablation areas, using RF or voltage pulse energy to induce lesions while accommodating different vascular configurations, enhancing tissue contact and ablation efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional rigid ablation catheters are used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the adaptability to varying vascular sizes and configurations is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into multiple segments including a proximal portion, a middle portion with main body, and a distal portion with spline basket. Each segment can move or change shape independently, allowing the catheter to adapt to different vascular configurations while maintaining structural integrity and controllability from the proximal end.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter incorporates dynamic elements such as an elastically retractable spline basket and bendable electrodes that can change shape and position. The spline basket can be extended or retracted, and the electrodes can bend to conform to tissue surfaces, enabling the catheter to adapt to varying vascular sizes and maintain effective tissue contact during ablation procedures.
2Productivity
If conventional ablation catheters with fixed electrode positions are used, then the device structure is simple, but the ability to achieve comprehensive tissue ablation and expand ablation region is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The ablation catheter transitions from a traditional linear electrode arrangement to a three-dimensional spline basket configuration with bendable electrodes positioned at multiple angles and orientations. This spatial distribution allows simultaneous ablation of tissue from multiple directions, expanding the ablation region and improving efficiency by treating larger areas and more complex tissue geometries in a single procedure.
3Reliability
If rigid electrodes are used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the tissue contact and ablation safety are compromised in varying vascular configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The electrodes are constructed with flexible, bendable structures that can conform to the contours of tissue surfaces and vascular walls. This flexibility ensures reliable and uniform tissue contact across varying vascular configurations, improving ablation safety by preventing gaps or poor contact that could lead to ineffective treatment or unintended tissue damage, while the flexible design incorporates standard manufacturing techniques for metallic structures.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides systems and devices for ablation with bendable electrodes, including the system console of ablation energy, pacing and ECG unit as well as ablation catheter. The ablation energy is radio frequency (RF) or voltage pulse. The ablation catheter is connected to the system console of the ablation energy through a converter, and the ablation energy is transmitted to the ablation tissue through electrodes on the ablation catheter, leading to degeneration of tissue cells. The ablation catheter includes an elastically retractable spline basket made up of a plurality of extendable splines, each spline has at least one electrode attached on the surface. The bendable electrodes have good adaptability, and can automatically fit to configuration of different ablation tissue, thus overcoming the nondeformable issue of long traditional ring-shaped electrode, thereby achieving a better ablation effect. The distal end of the spline basket is also coupled with an annular catheter entering the pulmonary vein (PV). Using different configuration of electrodes contacting tissue and variable combination of the electrodes in spline basket and annular catheter for various discharge ablation patterns, local, linear, annular or uniformly distributed large-area irreversible lesion can be formed, thereby achieving the purpose of treating arrhythmia diseases such as atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia, and atrial fibrillation (AF).