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Assessment of electrode coupling for tissue ablation

  • US 8,998,890 B2
  • Filed: 12/06/2006
  • Issued: 04/07/2015
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2005
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A medical system comprising:

  • a first catheter comprising;

    a first ablation electrode configured for disposition within a first chamber of a heart for application of ablation energy to target tissue;

    a second catheter comprising a second electrode configured for disposition within said first chamber of said heart, and wherein said second electrode is a return electrode;

    an electrical power system electrically connected with said first ablation electrode configured to concurrently apply to said first ablation electrode, during a medical procedure, a first ablation signal having a first frequency and a second assessment signal having a second frequency, wherein said first and second frequencies are different;

    a first data structure including a plurality of sets of predetermined electrical coupling conditions indicative of empirical amounts of ablative energy passing between a testing electrode and a corresponding plurality of tissue types during tissue ablation, wherein each set of said plurality of sets of empirically predetermined electrical coupling conditions is related to electrical conductivity and mechanical compliance of each type of tissue of the corresponding plurality of tissue types, the corresponding plurality of tissue types including the target tissue, wherein said plurality of sets of predetermined electrical coupling conditions are associated with different ablation signal frequencies and different assessment signal frequencies; and

    an electrode coupling assessment module, wherein said electrode coupling assessment module is configured to assess, at a first time, a first level of an electrical coupling condition indicative of an amount of ablative energy that will pass between said first electrode and the target tissue based on comparison of a measured signal between said first ablation electrode and said target tissue with at least one of;

    a first set of said plurality of sets of said predetermined electrical coupling conditions corresponding to the first frequency of the first ablation signal; and

    a second set of said plurality of sets of predetermined electrical coupling conditions corresponding to the second frequency of the second assessment signal.

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