Apparatus and method for intra-cardiac mapping and ablation

摘要

An intra-cardiac mapping system is based on locating the ports through which blood flows in or out the heart chambers. For many procedures, such as ablation to cure atrial fibrillation, locating the pulmonary veins and the mitral valve accurately allows to perform a Maze procedure. The location of the ports and valves is based on using the convective cooling effect of the blood flow. The mapping can be performed by a catheter-deployed expandable net or a scanning catheter. The same net or catheter can also perform the ablation procedure.

主权项

1. A treatment system, comprising:
a structure; a plurality of elements carried by the structure, the structure and the plurality of elements sized to be receivable in an intra-cardiac cavity of a heart, the intra-cardiac cavity formed at least in part by a tissue wall having an interior surface, the interior surface interrupted by one or more ports in fluid communication with the intra-cardiac cavity, each of the plurality of elements including at least one characteristic that is responsive to blood flow, the plurality of elements positionable in spaced apart distribution within the intra-cardiac cavity by the structure, each of the elements in the spaced apart distribution positioned on a respective portion of the structure, each of the respective portions of the structure positionable adjacently to at least one of a portion of the interior surface or a portion of one of the one or more ports, at least a first one of the plurality of elements spaced on the structure from at least a second one of the plurality of elements such that the at least the first one of the plurality of elements is positioned on a respective first portion of the structure extendable across a portion of the one of the one or more ports and the at least the second one of the plurality of elements is positioned on a respective second portion of the structure which is positionable in the intra-cardiac cavity to not overlie the one of the one or more ports; and a control computer coupled to receive signals from at least two of the plurality of elements, the signals indicative of a blood flow at least proximate respective ones of the at least two of the plurality of elements in a mapping mode, the control computer configured to provide, based at least on the received signals indicative of the blood flow, a visual representation in the form of a map of a location of each of one or more regions of the interior surface of the tissue wall concurrently with a location of each of at least one of the one or more ports on the interior surface of the tissue wall with respect to the one or more regions.