Ablation catheter assembly having a virtual electrode comprising portholes
US7419489B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 10, 2006 |
| Grant date | Sep 2, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 10, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC08L2201/12
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An ablation catheter having a catheter shaft and a virtual electrode, the virtual electrode comprising portholes through an outer peripheral wall of the catheter shaft and a metal electrode, the catheter being used for treatment of cardiac arrhythmia, for example, atrial fibrillation, by electrically isolating a vessel, such as a pulmonary vein, from a chamber, such as the left atrium. The catheter shaft includes a proximal portion and a distal portion. The distal portion includes an active region, which is either a looped structure transverse to the longitudinal axis of the catheter shaft, or a linear structure that extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the catheter shaft. During use, the active region is directed into contact with, for example, the wall of a pulmonary vein. Upon energization, the virtual electrode creates a continuous lesion on an inner wall of the pulmonary vein, thereby electrically isolating the pulmonary vein from the left atrium.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.