Systems and methods for gap detection during ablation

A system comprising:

• a catheter comprising a proximal section, a distal section, and a shaft coupled between the proximal section and the distal section;
• a plurality of optical fibers located within the catheter;
• and
• a computing device coupled to the plurality of optical fibers, the computing device comprising a memory and a processor configured to:
• receive, from at least one optical fiber in the plurality of optical fibers, optical measurement data of a portion of tissue during or after an ablation;
• identify one or more optical properties of the portion of tissue by analyzing the optical measurement data;
• detect a presence or an absence of a gap between one or more lesions formed in an ablation line in the portion of tissue,
• wherein, to detect the presence or the absence of the gap between the one or more lesions, the processor is configured to:
• determine that the gap is present between the one or more lesions formed in the ablation line based on identifying birefringence in the portion of tissue, or
• determine that the gap is absent between the one or more lesions formed in the ablation line based on identifying an absence of birefringence in the portion of tissue;
• and
• provide an indication of the presence or the absence of the gap to a user.

A computing device comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory, where the processor is configured to:
• receive, from a catheter, optical measurement data of a portion of tissue while the catheter is moved along an ablation line in the portion of tissue;
• identify one or more optical properties of the portion of tissue by analyzing the optical measurement data;
• detect a presence or an absence of a gap between one or more lesions formed in an ablation line in the portion of tissue,
• wherein, to detect the presence or the absence of the gap between the one or more lesions, the processor is configured to:
• determine that the gap is present between the one or more lesions formed in the ablation line based on identifying birefringence in the portion of tissue, or
• determine that the gap is absent between the one or more lesions formed in the ablation line based on identifying an absence of birefringence in the portion of tissue;
• and
• provide an indication of the presence or the absence of the gap to a user.