Closed Loop Catheter Tip for Stable Cardiac Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current catheter designs for treating atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias face challenges in precise positioning and minimizing damage to the heart during mapping and ablation procedures, particularly due to the complexity of navigating and maintaining optimal electrode placement within the heart's vascular structure.
Innovation Solution
A catheter system featuring a distal tip section with a closed loop configuration, including a combination of linear and circular portions, equipped with electrode structures on the exterior surface, and an actuation wire for deploying and constricting the loop, allowing for precise positioning and stable contact with cardiac tissue, along with navigation sensors and radiopaque properties for accurate placement determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a traditional linear catheter tip is used, then the catheter can be easily navigated through vessels, but it is difficult to maintain stable electrode contact with cardiac tissue and achieve precise positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter tip is designed with a dynamic closed loop structure that can be deployed from a linear configuration during navigation to a circular configuration at the target site. This allows the catheter to be easily navigated in its linear form and then transformed into a stable circular form for precise electrode contact with cardiac tissue, resolving the contradiction between navigation ease and positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is segmented into a proximal linear portion for navigation and a distal circular portion for treatment. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its optimized function - the linear portion facilitates easy navigation through vessels while the circular portion provides stable electrode contact and precise positioning at the target site.
2Reliability
If electrodes are placed within the heart chamber, then mapping and ablation functions can be performed, but there is risk of damage to heart tissue and irregular heartbeats
Solution Approach 1:
The closed loop catheter structure acts as a flexible shell that can conform to the cardiac tissue surface without penetrating it. This allows electrodes to maintain stable contact for effective mapping and ablation while the flexible nature of the closed loop prevents tissue penetration and reduces the risk of damage and arrhythmias associated with intramural electrode placement.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the catheter tip is made rigid for stable positioning, then electrode contact stability improves, but the catheter becomes difficult to navigate through tortuous vascular paths
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter employs a dynamic structure that transitions from a flexible linear configuration during navigation to a stable circular configuration at the target site. The linear portion remains flexible for easy navigation through tortuous vessels, while the closed loop portion provides rigid stable positioning for electrode contact, eliminating the need to choose between flexibility and rigidity.
4Reliability
If a closed loop structure is deployed at the distal end, then stable contact with cardiac tissue is achieved, but the catheter structure becomes more complex during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into a simple linear proximal portion and a closed loop distal portion. This segmentation allows the majority of the catheter to remain simple for easy navigation, while only the distal tip requires the more complex closed loop structure for stable contact. The deployment mechanism transforms the tip from linear to circular configuration without complicating the overall catheter design.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus (200, 202, 206) is disclosed for performing at least one of mapping and ablation functions. The apparatus includes a catheter (200) sized and shaped for vascular access and having a tip section (224) forming a closed loop and one or more electrode structures (226) arranged with the closed loop.