Devices and methods for cardiac mapping of an annular region
AssigneeIrvine Biomedical, Inc.
InventorsMasamitsu Muranushi, Takashi Higashikubo, Pianka Roy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A catheter maps an electrical conduction pattern in an annular region of a heart. The catheter has a tubular shaft that has a pre-shaped curved distal section adjacent the distal end thereof, and at least one lumen extending between the distal end and the proximal end of the shaft, with a plurality of electrodes disposed on the distal section. A handle is attached to the proximal end of the shaft, with a steering mechanism provided at the handle for adjusting the curvature of the distal section, and a deflection mechanism provided at the handle for deflecting the distal section. The electrodes are positioned in a parallel plane separate from the shaft when the distal section is undeflected.
Claims15
A catheter for mapping an electrical conduction pattern in a tricuspid valve region of a heart, comprising:
- a tubular shaft having
- a distal end and a proximal end,
- a pre-shaped distal section adjacent the distal end, the pre-shaped distal section adapted to conform to a tricuspid valve region of a heart and having a first generally circular section and a second transitional section having two alternating angles located proximal the first generally circular section, at least one lumen extending between the distal end and the proximal end, and a plurality of electrodes disposed along the first generally circular section;
- a handle attached to the proximal end of the shaft;
- a steering mechanism provided within the handle for varying a diameter of the first generally circular section;
- and
- a deflection mechanism provided within the handle for deflecting the distal section bi-directionally;
- wherein the electrodes are positioned in a plane parallel to the shaft when the distal section is undeflected.
A method for mapping an electrical conduction pattern of a tricuspid valve region of a heart comprising the steps of:
- a) inserting a catheter into a right atrium of the heart, the catheter having a tubular shaft having a distal end and a proximal end, a pre-shaped distal section adjacent the distal end, the pre-shaped distal section adapted to conform to a tricuspid valve region of a heart and having a first generally circular section and a second transitional section located proximal the first generally circular section and having two alternating angles, at least one lumen extending between the distal end and the proximal end, and a plurality of electrodes disposed along the first generally circular section, the catheter further including a handle attached to the proximal end of the shaft, the handle having a steering mechanism for varying a diameter of the first generally circular section, and a deflection mechanism for deflecting the distal section bi-directionally, wherein the electrodes are positioned in a plane parallel to the shaft when the distal section is undeflected;
- b) deflecting the distal section inside the right atrium to position the distal section onto the tricuspid valve region, wherein the second transitional section is used as an anchoring point for stabilizing the distal section of the catheter shaft inside the right atrium;
- c) exposing the plurality of electrodes to an endocardial tissue around the tricuspid valve region;
- d) steering the distal end of the catheter to vary the diameter of the first generally circular section and conform the first generally circular section to the size of the tricuspid valve region;
- and
- e) mapping the surface of the endocardial tissue, including the tricuspid valve region, wherein the electrical conduction pattern is used to assist in locating areas of aberrant electrical conduction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.