Device, system, and method for intracardiac diagnosis or therapy with localization

• US 10,383,542 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2014
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories)
• Original Assignee: St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories)
• Inventors: Lupotti, Fermin A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Roy, Baisakhi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehl, Patrick M
• Application Number:
  US14/206,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20140275957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,987 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00577 Ablation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2048 using an accelerometer or inertia sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2059 Mechanical position encoders
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3784 both receiver and transmitter being in the instrument or receiver being also transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/062 using magnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/067 using accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6852 Catheters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7203 for noise prevention, reduction or removal

Abstract

A medical system for locating a catheter distal tip within a body using a plurality electrical position sensors and a magnetic position sensor in conjunction with an acceleration sensor or rotational encoder. The system locates the catheter by using signals from the acceleration sensor or rotational encoder and magnetic sensors to compensate for positioning errors associated with electric positioning sensors.

Claims

1. A catheter for use in a body, the catheter comprising:

an elongate member comprising a distal portion and a proximal portion;

the distal portion comprising a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors comprising an acceleration sensor, a plurality of electrical position sensors configured to produce a first signal indicative of five degrees of freedom of the distal portion, and a magnetic position sensor configured to produce a second signal indicative of the five degrees of freedom of the distal portion; and

a control handle attached to the proximal portion of the elongate member, the control handle comprising a deflection knob configured to deflect the distal portion of the elongate member;

wherein the sensors are configured to generate a set of first signals, the set of first signals being collectively indicative of a position and an orientation of the distal portion in space; and

wherein the acceleration sensor is configured to produce a third signal indicative of a sixth degree of freedom of the distal portion.

2. The catheter of claim 1, the distal portion further comprising an ultrasound transducer;

and wherein the position and orientation of the distal portion in space includes all six degrees of freedom.

3. The catheter of claim 1, the distal portion further comprising an ablation electrode;

and wherein the magnetic position sensor is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the catheter.

4. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor further comprises an accelerometer;

and wherein the sixth degree of freedom is a rotation along a longitudinal axis of the elongated member.

5. The catheter of claim 4, the accelerometer being disposed to measure radial acceleration of the elongate member.

6. The catheter of claim 1, the acceleration sensor further comprising orthogonally oriented accelerometers.

7. The catheter of claim 1, the handle further comprising a rotational encoder configured to generate at least one second signal.

8. The catheter of claim 7, wherein the second signal of the rotational encoder and the first signal of the magnetic position sensor are to determine the position and orientation of the distal portion in space.

9. A system for navigating a medical device in a body comprising:

an electronic control unit, the electronic control unit being configured to;

receive a first signal from an acceleration sensor located in a distal portion of a catheter, the first signal indicative of a sixth degree of freedom of a position and orientation of the distal portion;

receive a second signal from a magnetic position sensor located in the distal portion of the catheter, the second signal indicative of five degrees of freedom of the distal portion;

receive a third signal from each of a plurality of electric position sensors located in the distal portion of the catheter, the third signal indicative of the five degrees of freedom of the distal portion;

determine a position and an orientation of the distal portion of the catheter utilizing the third signal of the electric position sensors and the second signal of the magnetic position sensor to determine five degrees of freedom of the distal portion, and the first signal of the acceleration sensor to determine the sixth degree of freedom of the distal portion;

control a magnetic field generator configured to generate magnetic fields in the body;

control an electric signal generator configured to generate voltage differentials between one or more electrode patches;

generate a user interface; and

control a display unit to display the interface.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the catheter comprises:

an elongate member comprising the distal portion and a proximal portion; and

a control handle attached to the proximal portion of the elongate member, the control handle comprising a deflection knob configured to deflect the distal portion of the elongate member.

11. The system of claim 10, the handle further having a rotational encoder configured to generate a signal.

12. The system of claim 11, the electronic control unit being further configured to determine the position and orientation of the distal portion of the catheter in space utilizing the signals of the rotational encoder and the magnetic position sensor.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to register one or more baseline positions.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to compare a position determined from the electric sensors signals to a position determined from the magnetic sensor and the rotational encoder signals and to correct the position and orientation of the distal portion of the catheter based on the comparison.

15. The system of claim 9, the electronic control unit further being configured to control an ultrasound console, and the distal portion further comprising an ultrasound transducer in communication with the ultrasound console;

the ultrasound console being configured to generate ultrasound images using the ultrasound transducer.

16. The system of claim 9, the electronic control unit further being configured to control an ablation energy generator in communication with an ablation electrode, the distal portion further comprising the ablation electrode;

and wherein the sixth degree of freedom is a rotation along a longitudinal axis of the medical device.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein the acceleration sensor further comprises an accelerometer;

and wherein the magnetic position sensor and the plurality of electric positions cannot detect motion of the medical device in the sixth degree of freedom.

18. The system of claim 17, the accelerometer being disposed to measure radial acceleration of the flexible member.

19. The system of claim 17, the acceleration sensor further comprising orthogonally oriented accelerometers.

20. A method of locating a catheter within a body, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a first signal from an acceleration sensor located in a distal portion of the catheter, the first signal indicative of a sixth degree of freedom of a position and orientation of the distal portion;

acquiring a second signal from a magnetic position sensor located in the distal portion of the catheter, the second signal indicative of five degrees of freedom of the distal portion;

acquiring a third signal from each of a plurality of electrical position sensors located in the distal portion of the catheter, the third signal indicative of the five degrees of freedom of a position and orientation of the distal portion; and

determining a position and orientation of the distal portion of the catheter utilizing the signals of the electrical position sensors, the magnetic position sensor and the acceleration sensor.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

determining a first position and orientation from the acceleration sensor and magnetic position sensor signals;

determining a second position and orientation from the electrical position sensor signals;

comparing the first position and orientation and the second position and orientation; and

correcting the position and orientation of the distal portion based on the comparison.