System and method for anatomical mapping of tissue and planning ablation paths therein

摘要

Methods for ablating tissue in a patient having atrial fibrillation comprise advancing an elongate flexible shaft through a patient's vasculature into a chamber of a heart. The elongate flexible shaft has an energy source and a sensor. Tissue in the heart is scanned with the sensor and data about the tissue is captured. The captured data is grouped into one of a plurality of tissue classifications and an anatomical map of the tissue showing the grouped data is displayed. At least a portion of the tissue is ablated so as to form a conduction block that blocks aberrant electrical pathways in the heart. The ablated tissue is grouped into one or more predefined tissue classifications during or prior to the ablation.

主权项

1. A method of ablating tissue in a patient as a treatment for atrial fibrillation, said method comprising:
providing an elongate flexible shaft having an energy source and a sensor, wherein the energy source and the sensor constitute a single device disposed in a housing near a distal end of the elongate flexible shaft; planning an initial ablation path in the tissue, wherein the planning step comprises graphically planning the initial ablation path on a map of the tissue, wherein the map comprises a two dimensional or a three dimensional representation of the tissue; displaying on the map the initial ablation path and excluded zones in the initial ablation path; revising the initial ablation path on the displayed map to avoid the excluded zones; verifying that one or more of the initial ablation path or revised ablation path is acceptable; ablating the tissue along the revised ablation path with ultrasound energy emitted from the energy source, wherein ablating the tissue comprises ablating the tissue while moving the energy source such that the ultrasound energy moves along the revised ablation path without direct contact between the energy source and the tissue and without direct contact between the housing and the tissue; and scanning the tissue with the sensor, wherein the scanning comprises emitting a beam of ultrasound energy from the energy source and capturing energy reflected back from the tissue with the sensor, wherein the verifying uses data collected from the scanning.