Cardiac ablation catheters for forming overlapping lesions
First Claim
1. A cardiac tissue ablation system, comprising:
- an elongate catheter that is formed of a material that is substantially transparent to radiant energy and is configured to deliver a distal end thereof to a patient'"'"'s heart;
an expandable member having a distal end that is attached to the distal portion of the catheter and a proximal end that is attached to a proximal portion of the catheter, the expandable member being substantially transparent to radiant energy and having an elastic portion configured to conform to the shape of a target tissue region upon expansion; and
an energy emitter assembly movably disposed within a lumen of the catheter such that the energy emitter assembly is surrounded by the catheter and a point of attachment between the expandable member and the distal portion of the catheter is distal to the energy emitter, the energy emitter assembly including an energy emitter that is configured to deliver a series of arc-shaped spots of radiant ablative energy through the material that forms the catheter and the expandable member to the target tissue region, wherein a distal end of the energy emitter includes a plurality of beveled faces that converge to define an energy emitting face at a distal tip of the energy emitter, the energy emitting face being of reduced cross-section relative to a proximal portion of the energy emitter so as to provide an arc-shaped exposure pattern upon impingement with the target tissue region;
wherein the beveled energy emitting face of the energy emitter is rectangular and is offset from an optical axis of a lens such that the radiant ablation energy is projected as an arc shaped beam.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and instruments are disclosed for creating lesions in tissue, especially cardiac tissue, for treatment of arrhythmias and the like, by employing an elastic balloon and an energy emitter, which is independently positionable within the lumen of the instrument and adapted to project a series of spots of ablative energy through a transmissive region of the balloon to a target tissue site. The energy emitter preferably is configured such the spots of energy result in a series of lesions formed in the target tissue region when the emitter is activated, the lesions having an average area ranging from about 5 mm2 to about 100 mm2. In one aspect of the invention, percutaneous ablation instruments are disclosed in the form of catheter bodies having one or more balloon structures at the distal end region of the instrument and an energy emitting element, which is independently positionable and rotatable within a lumen of the instrument and adapted to project ablative energy through a transmissive region of the balloon to a target tissue site in contact with, or proximal to, the balloon surface.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A cardiac tissue ablation system, comprising:
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an elongate catheter that is formed of a material that is substantially transparent to radiant energy and is configured to deliver a distal end thereof to a patient'"'"'s heart; an expandable member having a distal end that is attached to the distal portion of the catheter and a proximal end that is attached to a proximal portion of the catheter, the expandable member being substantially transparent to radiant energy and having an elastic portion configured to conform to the shape of a target tissue region upon expansion; and an energy emitter assembly movably disposed within a lumen of the catheter such that the energy emitter assembly is surrounded by the catheter and a point of attachment between the expandable member and the distal portion of the catheter is distal to the energy emitter, the energy emitter assembly including an energy emitter that is configured to deliver a series of arc-shaped spots of radiant ablative energy through the material that forms the catheter and the expandable member to the target tissue region, wherein a distal end of the energy emitter includes a plurality of beveled faces that converge to define an energy emitting face at a distal tip of the energy emitter, the energy emitting face being of reduced cross-section relative to a proximal portion of the energy emitter so as to provide an arc-shaped exposure pattern upon impingement with the target tissue region; wherein the beveled energy emitting face of the energy emitter is rectangular and is offset from an optical axis of a lens such that the radiant ablation energy is projected as an arc shaped beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A cardiac tissue ablation system, comprising:
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an elongate catheter that is formed of a material that is substantially transparent to radiant energy and is configured to deliver a distal end thereof to a patient'"'"'s heart; an expandable member having a distal end that is attached to the distal portion of the catheter and a proximal end that is attached to a proximal portion of the catheter, the expandable member being substantially transparent to radiant energy and having an elastic portion configured to conform to the shape of a target tissue region upon expansion; and an energy emitter assembly movably disposed within a lumen of the catheter such that the energy emitter assembly is surrounded by the catheter and a point of attachment between the expandable member and the distal portion of the catheter is distal to the energy emitter, the energy emitter assembly including an energy emitter that is configured to deliver a series of arc-shaped spots of radiant ablative energy through the material that forms the catheter and the expandable member to the target tissue region, wherein a distal end of the energy emitter includes a plurality of beveled faces that converge to define an energy emitting face at a distal tip of the energy emitter, the energy emitting face being of reduced cross-section relative to a proximal portion of the energy emitter so as to provide an arc-shaped exposure pattern upon impingement with the target tissue region; wherein the energy emitter assembly further comprises a lens configured to receive radiant energy from the energy emitting face of the optical fiber and focus the energy prior to passing through the expandable member, the lens being disposed distal to the energy emitting face of the optical fiber and the energy emitting face of the optical fiber and the lens being configured and arranged such that light propagating through the lens is bent into an arc-shaped exposure pattern.
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Specification