Catheter force control device

A method of controlling force of a catheter configured for contact with a target tissue, the method comprising:

• coupling a catheter and a sheath to a hand-held catheter force control device, the device comprising:
• a base sized to be hand-held;
• a cover reversibly fastened to the base in a closed position;
• a sheath clamp coupled to the base, the sheath clamp capturing a sheath handle of the sheath to immobilize the sheath handle relative to the base, the sheath clamp is an aperture formed in corresponding abutting edges of the cover and the base, the aperture being formed when the cover and the base are in the closed position;
• a catheter clamp capturing the catheter, a remote end of the catheter configured to deliver an ablation therapy;
• the catheter clamp aligned to be substantially co-axial with the sheath clamp;
• and a linear actuator effecting linear motion of the catheter clamp relative to the sheath clamp;
• detecting real-time contact force data with a force sensor located at the remote end of the catheter, the remote end configured for contact with a target tissue;
• receiving the real-time contact force data with a controller;
• and generating and communicating a control signal from the controller to the linear actuator to minimize a difference between the real-time contact force data and a preset desired contact force during ablation therapy delivery to the target tissue, the control signal adjusting a position of the linear actuator to compensate for a contact disturbance of the remote end configured for contact with the target tissue.