Contact Sensing Subsystem for Cardiac Ablation Catheters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tissue ablation techniques face challenges in ensuring stable and uniform contact between ablation catheters and cardiac tissue, which can lead to ineffective treatments and potential tissue damage.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for assessing contact quality between a medical instrument's distal end and cardiac tissue using a contact sensing subsystem that generates signals at different frequencies and processes electrical measurements to determine contact impedance, phase, and slope, providing real-time feedback to clinicians.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a clinician relies on tactile feedback and visual imaging to position the ablation catheter, then the procedure can be performed with simple equipment, but contact stability and uniformity deteriorate leading to ineffective treatment or tissue damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback by continuously monitoring electrical impedance between the catheter electrode and cardiac tissue. The system provides immediate feedback to the clinician about contact quality, enabling dynamic adjustment of catheter position to maintain stable and uniform contact during ablation procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces reliance on tactile feedback and visual imaging with electrical impedance sensing. By measuring electrical properties rather than mechanical or visual cues, the system achieves more precise and objective contact assessment, improving reliability without requiring complex mechanical or imaging systems.
2Manufacturing precision
If ablation energy is delivered without contact verification, then the procedure is faster and simpler, but treatment effectiveness deteriorates and tissue damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary contact verification by measuring electrical impedance before delivering ablation energy. This preliminary assessment ensures that the catheter is properly positioned and in stable contact with the target tissue, guaranteeing treatment precision before the actual ablation procedure begins.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback during energy delivery by continuously monitoring impedance changes. This allows the clinician to maintain optimal contact conditions throughout the ablation process, ensuring consistent treatment effectiveness while enabling efficient procedure completion.
3Measurement precision
If contact assessment is performed manually without automated systems, then equipment complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and objectivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective manual assessment with objective electrical impedance measurement. By using electrical properties to quantify contact quality, the system achieves precise and reproducible measurements that are independent of clinician experience or interpretation, significantly improving measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-assessment by automatically measuring its own contact conditions through impedance sensing. The catheter itself provides the measurement data needed to evaluate contact quality, eliminating the need for external complex sensing equipment while maintaining high measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the effectiveness and safety of tissue ablation procedures by ensuring stable contact, preventing perforation and overheating, and allowing for precise control of energy delivery.
Implementation Method 1
obtain electrical measurements (such as voltage and/or current measurements or impedance measurements) between the pair of electrode members
Data Source
AI summary
According to some embodiments, a medical instrument comprises an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end and a pair of electrodes or electrode portions (for example, a split-tip electrode assembly). Systems and methods are described herein that perform contact sensing and/or ablation confirmation based on electrical measurements obtained while energy of different frequencies are applied to the pair of electrodes or electrode portions. The contact sensing systems and methods may calibrate network parameter measurements to compensate for a hardware unit in a network parameter measurement circuit or to account for differences in cables, instrumentation or hardware used.