Systems and methods using a porous electrode for ablating and visualizing interior tissue regions
First Claim
1. A porous electrode assembly comprisinga wall having a surface capable of contacting tissue and peripherally surrounding an interior area,a lumen to convey a medium containing ions into the interior area,an electrically conductive element coupling the medium within the interior area to a source of electrical energy,at least a portion of the wall comprising a porous material sized to pass ions contained in the medium to thereby enable ionic transport of electrical energy through the porous material to tissue contacting the wall,an imaging element in the interior area coupled to a source of visualizing energy for visualizing tissue, andat least a portion of the wall also being generally transparent to the visualizing energy.
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Abstract
A porous electrode assembly includes a wall having a surface capable of contacting tissue. The wall peripherally surrounds an interior area. The assembly also includes a lumen to convey a medium containing ions into the interior area, as well as an electrically conductive element, which couples the medium within the interior area to a source of electrical energy. At least a portion of the wall comprises a porous material, which is sized to pass ions contained in the medium, to thereby enable ionic transport of electrical energy through the porous material to tissue contacting the wall. An imaging element is located in the interior area, which is coupled to a source of visualizing energy for visualizing tissue. At least a portion of the wall is generally transparent to the visualizing energy.
724 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A porous electrode assembly comprising
a wall having a surface capable of contacting tissue and peripherally surrounding an interior area, a lumen to convey a medium containing ions into the interior area, an electrically conductive element coupling the medium within the interior area to a source of electrical energy, at least a portion of the wall comprising a porous material sized to pass ions contained in the medium to thereby enable ionic transport of electrical energy through the porous material to tissue contacting the wall, an imaging element in the interior area coupled to a source of visualizing energy for visualizing tissue, and at least a portion of the wall also being generally transparent to the visualizing energy.
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20. A system for ablating heart tissue comprising
a catheter tube having a distal end for deployment in a heart chamber, a fluid source of a medium containing ions, an electrode on the distal end of the catheter tube comprising a wall having a surface capable of contacting tissue and peripherally surrounding an interior area, a lumen to convey a medium containing ions into the interior area, an electrically conductive element in the interior area, an electrical path coupling the electrically conductive element to a source of energy to transmit the energy, at least a portion of the wall comprising a porous material sized to pass ions contained in the medium, thereby establishing ionic transport of electrical energy from the electrically conductive element through the medium and wall to ablate heart tissue, and an imaging element in the interior area coupled to a source of visualizing energy for visualizing tissue, and at least a portion of the wall also being generally transparent to the visualizing energy.
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34. A method for ablating tissue comprising the steps of
introducing into an interior body region a porous electrode assembly comprising a wall having a surface capable of contacting tissue and peripherally surrounding an interior area, a lumen to convey a medium containing ions into the interior area, an electrically conductive element coupling the medium within the interior area to a source of electrical energy, an imaging element in the interior area coupled to a source of visualizing energy for visualizing tissue, at least a portion of the wall comprising a porous material sized to pass ions contained in the medium, the porous material also being generally transparent to the visualizing energy, ablating tissue by conveying electrical energy from the source to the electrically conductive element to thereby enable ionic transport of electrical energy through the porous material to the tissue, and operating the imaging element to visualizing tissue surrounding the porous electrode assembly.
Specification