Accurate positioning and shape visualization of balloon catheter ablation tags

A method, comprising:

• generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of a body cavity;
• receiving, from a position transducer associated with a medical probe configured to be inserted into the body cavity and comprising a distal end having at least one elongated electrode disposed longitudinally along the distal end, signals indicative of orientation and location coordinates of the distal end within the body cavity, the at least one elongated electrode comprising a width and a length, the length being longer than the width;
• identifying, based on the 3D model and the signals, a segment along a length of a given elongated electrode that is in contact with tissue at a site on an inner surface of the body cavity, while parts of the given elongated electrode other than the identified segment are not in contact with the inner surface of the body cavity;
• and
• rendering to the display a graphical representation of the 3D model with a visual marker at a location on the 3D model corresponding to the site contacted by the segment of the given elongated electrode.

A computer software product, operated in conjunction with a medical probe configured to be inserted into a body cavity and comprising a distal end having at least one elongated electrode disposed longitudinally along the distal end, the at least one elongated electrode comprising a width and a length, the length being shorter than the width, the product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium, in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer:

• to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model of a body cavity;
• to receive, from a position transducer associated with the medical probe, signals indicative of orientation and location coordinates of the distal end within the body cavity;
• to identify, based on the 3D model and the signals, a segment along a length of a given elongated electrode that is in contact with tissue at a site on an inner surface of the body cavity, while parts of the given elongated electrode other than the identified segment are not in contact with the inner surface of the body cavity;
• and
• to render to the display a graphical representation of the 3D model with a visual marker at a location on the 3D model corresponding to the site contacted by the segment of the given elongated electrode.