Touch indication of balloon-catheter ablation electrode via balloon surface temperature measurement

A system, comprising:

• a catheter, comprising:
• a shaft for insertion into a cavity of an organ of a patient at a target location within the organ, the shaft having an inner lumen for flowing a fluid to cause a pH of blood, a temperature of blood, or a carbon dioxide content of blood to be transient;
• and
• an expandable balloon, coupled to a distal end of the shaft, the expandable balloon comprising multiple electrodes and one or more sensors in proximity to each electrode, the one or more sensors being configured each to measure the pH, the temperature, or the carbon dioxide content of blood in proximity to each electrode at the target location over a period of time and in an ongoing state;
• and
• a processor, which is configured to,
• determine, in the ongoing state, whether or not each electrode is in physical contact with tissue at the target location over the period of time, based on a measured dependence of the pH, the temperature, or the carbon dioxide content of blood on time over the period of time;
• and
• output to a user an indication of whether or not each electrode is in physical contact with the tissue at the target location over the period of time.

A system, comprising:

• a catheter, comprising:
• a shaft for insertion into a cavity of an organ of a patient at a target location within the organ, the shaft having an inner lumen for flowing a fluid to cause a pH of blood, temperature, and carbon dioxide content to be transient;
• and
• an expandable balloon, coupled to a distal end of the shaft, the expandable balloon comprising multiple electrodes and one or more sensors in proximity to each electrode, the one or more sensors being configured each to measure the pH, the temperature, or the carbon dioxide content of the blood in dependence on time at the target location over a period of time and in an ongoing state;
• and
• a processor, which is configured to,
• determine, in the ongoing state, an amount of each electrode that is in physical contact with tissue at the target location over the period of time, the amount ranging from no physical contact to full physical contact with the tissue, based on the measured dependence on time of the pH, the temperature, or the carbon dioxide content of the blood over the period of time;
• and
• output to a user an indication of the amount each electrode is in physical contact with the tissue at the target location over the period of time.