Cardiac ablation system and method for treatment of cardiac arrhthmias and transmyocardial revascularization
First Claim
1. A method of treating cardiac arrhythmia using epicardial ablation comprising the steps of providing a gripper device having a plurality of arms, each arm having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein at least one of said arms is moveable relative to the other arm, the gripper device also having an ablator disposed on said inner surface of at least one of said moveable arms;
- gripping an epicardial surface of the heart with the gripper device to position the ablator in contact with at least a portion of the heart along a circumference of the heart; and
applying said ablator to said epicardial surface at least once such that cardiac conductive tissue is ablated to create a lesion that encircles the heart.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A medical device, and related method, use epicardial ablators and detectors for intraoperative epicardial approaches to ablation therapy of cardiac conduction pathways. An epicardial gripper is sized to grasp the cardiac circumference or smaller structures on the epicardial surface of the heart. Ablators are disposed on the arms of the gripper for epicardial ablation of cardiac conduction tissue. In another embodiment of the invention, an electrode system includes a flexible, adjustable probe forming a loop for epicardial ablation. Ablators are provided on one or multiple surfaces of the probe for epicardial ablation of cardiac conduction tissue. In yet another embodiment of the invention, an endocardial ablator detection system provides an indicator adjacent an ablator on an endocardial catheter, and a detector on an epicardial probe. The epicardial probe detects signals transmitted by the indicator on the endocardial catheter to localize the position of the endocardial ablator relative to the epicardial surface. The surgeon uses this information for guidance in adjusting the position of the endocardial ablator according to therapeutic objectives of cardiac ablation.
106 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of treating cardiac arrhythmia using epicardial ablation comprising the steps of
providing a gripper device having a plurality of arms, each arm having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein at least one of said arms is moveable relative to the other arm, the gripper device also having an ablator disposed on said inner surface of at least one of said moveable arms; -
gripping an epicardial surface of the heart with the gripper device to position the ablator in contact with at least a portion of the heart along a circumference of the heart; and
applying said ablator to said epicardial surface at least once such that cardiac conductive tissue is ablated to create a lesion that encircles the heart. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A gripping apparatus for treating cardiac arrhythmia which forms encircling lesions upon an epicardial surface, the apparatus comprising
at least two moveable arm members, each moveable arm member having an inner and outer surface and at least one ablator on each of the moveable arm members; wherein each moveable arm member is curved such that each moveable arm member may contact at least a curved portion of a circumference of a heart.
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9. A gripping apparatus for treating cardiac arrhythmia which forms encircling lesions upon an epicardial surface, the apparatus comprising
at least two moveable arm members, each moveable arm member having an inner and outer surface and at least one ablator on each of the moveable arm members; - and
an epicardial detector to assist in positioning the gripping apparatus for an ablation treatment;
wherein each moveable arm member is curved such that each moveable arm member may contact at least a curved portion of a circumference of a heart. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for treating cardiac arrhythmia which forms encircling lesions upon an epicardial surface, the apparatus comprising
a substrate forming a substantially closed loop, the substrate having an inner surface and an outer surface; -
at least one ablator on the inner surface; and
an epicardial detector to assist in positioning the apparatus for an ablation treatment;
wherein the substrate is curved such that it can contact at least a curved portion of a circumference of a heart. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification