Systems and methods for tissue mapping and ablation
First Claim
1. An apparatus for recording electrical signals and/or for applying energy to a target site within a patient comprising:
- a shaft having distal and proximal end portions and a longitudinal axis therebetween;
an ablation segment comprising first and second arms pivotally mounted to the distal end portion of the shaft by a hinge for movement between generally parallel and spaced-apart positions, the arms each having a distal end spaced-apart from the hinge, each arm having a plurality of ablation electrodes;
a connector extending through the shaft for electrically coupling the electrodes to a source of electrical energy; and
a force element coupled to the shaft and disposed to apply an axially directed force to the arms between the distal ends of the arms.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A steerable electrophysiology catheter includes a shaft having a distal ablation segment with one or more electrodes coupled to a source of electrical energy by a connector extending through the shaft. The distal ablation segment of the shaft is movable between a collapsed configuration sized for percutaneous introduction into the patient and/or endoluminal delivery to the target site and an expanded configuration, in which the distal ablation segment forms a substantially continuous surface transverse to the shaft axis for engaging the heart tissue and creating a linear lesion thereon. The catheter includes one or more force element(s) positioned to apply an axial force between the distal and proximal ends of the ablation segment. The force element(s) provide a sufficiently uniform force against the distal ablation segment to establish continuous contact pressure between the electrodes and the patient'"'"'s heart tissue. This contact pressure allows the surgeon to engage the entire length of the distal ablation segment against the heart tissue to provide a relatively long linear lesion on this tissue.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. An apparatus for recording electrical signals and/or for applying energy to a target site within a patient comprising:
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a shaft having distal and proximal end portions and a longitudinal axis therebetween; an ablation segment comprising first and second arms pivotally mounted to the distal end portion of the shaft by a hinge for movement between generally parallel and spaced-apart positions, the arms each having a distal end spaced-apart from the hinge, each arm having a plurality of ablation electrodes; a connector extending through the shaft for electrically coupling the electrodes to a source of electrical energy; and a force element coupled to the shaft and disposed to apply an axially directed force to the arms between the distal ends of the arms. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for applying energy to a target site in a patient'"'"'s body comprising:
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selecting an electrode catheter having a distal ablation segment, the distal ablation segment comprising first and second arms pivotally mounted to a distal end portion of a shaft of the catheter by a hinge, the arms each having a plurality of ablation electrodes and a distal end spaced-apart from the hinge; pivoting the arms from a first, generally parallel position to a second, expanded position at which the distal ends are spaced-apart from one another; contacting tissue at a target site with said plurality of electrodes on each of the spaced-apart arms, said catheter defining a catheter axis; applying an axial force to the ablation segment between the distal ends of the arms to maintain contact pressure between the electrodes and the tissue; and applying energy to the electrodes and to the tissue at the target site. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification