Ultrasonic imaging ablation catheter system and method

An integrated ultrasound imaging and ablation system comprising:

• an ablation catheter having a longitudinal axis, a proximal end, and a distal end;
• a catheter shaft connected at one end to a handle assembly and at another end to a ring;
• a first carrier assembly coupled to the catheter shaft and having a first radially expandable array of electrodes coupled to a plurality of first carrier arms;
• and
• a second carrier assembly coupled to the catheter shaft and having a second radially expandable array of electrodes coupled to a plurality of second carrier arms, a proximal end of the second carrier arms being pivotally attached to a distal end of the plurality of first carrier arms via the ring;
• a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) based Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (pMUT) array, wherein the MEMS based pMUT array comprises a substrate and a plurality of MEMS based pMUT array elements arranged on the substrate;
• wherein the MEMS based pMUT array is mounted to the ring;
• and
• an electronic flex cable connected at one end to the handle assembly and at other end to the MEMS based pMUT array, wherein the electronic flex cable is in communication with at least one signal trace and advances distally inside of the ring, and is further configured to:
• direct each of the plurality of MEMS based pMUT array elements, via the at least one signal trace, to transmit and receive, with respect to heart, ultrasound beams;
• receive at least one signal from the plurality of MEMS based pMUT array elements based on transmitting and receiving at least one ultrasound beam of the ultrasound beams;
• and
• construct at least one image of at least a portion of the heart based on the at least one signal.

A medical device, comprising:

• a catheter shaft comprising an outer shaft, a first control shaft slidingly received by the outer shaft, and a second control shaft slidingly received by the first control shaft;
• a first carrier assembly coupled to the first control shaft and having a first radially expandable array of electrodes coupled to a plurality of first carrier arms;
• and
• a second carrier assembly rotatably coupled to the second control shaft and having a second radially expandable array of electrodes coupled to a plurality of second carrier arms, the second carrier assembly rotatable about the first carrier assembly;
• a ring disposed between the first carrier assembly and the second carrier assembly;
• a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) based Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (pMUT) array, wherein the MEMS based pMUT array comprises a substrate and a plurality of MEMS based pMUT array elements arranged on the substrate;
• and
• an electronic flex cable connected at one end to a handle assembly and at other end to the MEMS based pMUT array, wherein a distal end of the electronic flex cable is connected at a radial location on the catheter shaft that is offset from where a proximal end of the electronic flex cable is connected on the catheter shaft;
• and
• wherein the MEMS based pMUT array is mounted to the ring;
• and the electronic flex cable distally advances inside of the ring.