GUIDED CARDIAC ABLATION CATHETERS
First Claim
1. A cardiac ablation instrument for treatment of atrial fibrillation comprising:
- a catheter adapted for disposition within a heart;
an expandable balloon member coupled to the catheter and adapted for positioning proximate to a pulmonary vein;
an ablation element within the balloon member for creating at least one lesion in the vicinity of the pulmonary vein; and
a reflectance sensor for positioning the ablation element relative to the pulmonary vein.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Guided ablation instruments are disclosed for creating lesions in tissue, especially cardiac tissue for treatment of arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. In one aspect of the invention, a percutaneous catheter is disclosed with an endoscope positionable in the instrument'"'"'s distal end region to obtain an image. The image allows the clinician to determine whether contact has been achieved (or blood has been cleared from an ablative energy transmission path) before ablation begins or while ablation is occurring. In one embodiment, percutaneous ablation catheters are disclosed having at least one central lumen and one or more balloon structures at the distal end region of the instrument. Also disposed in the distal end region are an illuminating light source and an endoscope capable of collecting sufficient light to relay an image to the user. The instruments can further include an ablation element.
24 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A cardiac ablation instrument for treatment of atrial fibrillation comprising:
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a catheter adapted for disposition within a heart; an expandable balloon member coupled to the catheter and adapted for positioning proximate to a pulmonary vein; an ablation element within the balloon member for creating at least one lesion in the vicinity of the pulmonary vein; and a reflectance sensor for positioning the ablation element relative to the pulmonary vein. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21-80. -80. (canceled)
Specification