Apparatus and method for diagnosis and therapy of electrophysiological disease
First Claim
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1. A method of positioning an ablating surface against tissue, comprising the steps of:
- providing an ablating device having a first ablating portion, a second ablating portion and an end;
introducing the ablating device into the space between the pericardium and the epicardium;
positioning the end of the ablating element in the transverse pericardial sinus so that the first ablating surface is positioned in the transverse pericardial sinus; and
moving the second ablating portion toward the pulmonary veins after the positioning step; and
ablating the tissue adjacent to the pulmonary veins with the first and second ablating portions.
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Abstract
The invention provides apparatus and methods for mapping conduction pathways and creating lesions in the heart wall for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. The apparatus may include at least one epicardial ablation probe having a plurality of electrodes for creating a lesion. The apparatus and method facilitate the formation of a lesion which electrically isolates the pulmonary veins from the surrounding myocardium.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of positioning an ablating surface against tissue, comprising the steps of:
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providing an ablating device having a first ablating portion, a second ablating portion and an end;
introducing the ablating device into the space between the pericardium and the epicardium;
positioning the end of the ablating element in the transverse pericardial sinus so that the first ablating surface is positioned in the transverse pericardial sinus; and
moving the second ablating portion toward the pulmonary veins after the positioning step; and
ablating the tissue adjacent to the pulmonary veins with the first and second ablating portions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of forming ablations to electrically isolate a structure of a patient'"'"'s heart, comprising the steps of:
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providing a first ablating device having a first ablating element;
introducing the first ablating device into a space between the pericardium and epicardium;
positioning a part of the first ablating device against a structure of the patient'"'"'s heart;
moving another part of the ablating device around the structure of the patient'"'"'s heart after the positioning step; and
ablating tissue to create a lesion with the first ablating element. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of creating a continuous lesion in tissue, comprising the steps of:
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providing an ablating device having an ablating element;
introducing the ablating device into a space between the epicardium and pericardium;
ablating tissue after the introducing step to create a first lesion;
moving the ablating device after the ablating step;
positioning the ablating device at a location so that a second lesion formed with the ablating element will be continuous with the first lesion;
ablating tissue with the ablating element to create the second lesion continuous with the first lesion. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification