Method and apparatus for altering conduction properties in the heart and in adjacent vessels
AssigneeC.R. Bard, Inc.
InventorsDing Sheng He, David MacAdam
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Method and apparatus for treating conductive irregularities in the heart, particularly atrial fibrillation and accessory path arrythmias. An ablative catheter is positioned relative to an inter-atrial electrical pathway, or a vicinity of accessory paths such as the coronary sinus or fossa ovalis, and actuated to form a lesion that partially or completely blocks electrical conduction in at least one direction along the pathway.
Claims29
A method for treating a condition of the heart, comprising acts of:
- introducing a catheter into the heart, the catheter having a braided conductive member comprising a plurality of partially insulated filaments at a distal end thereof, wherein the braided conductive member comprises an ablative ring comprising uninsulated portions of filaments having a generally ring-shaped configuration;
- expanding the braided conductive member into a deployed configuration;
- contacting a selected location of the heart with the braided conductive member;
- forming a lesion on tissue at the selected location of the heart by energizing a plurality of filaments of the braided conductive member;
- and
- measuring the quality of the lesion using at least one filament of the braided conductive member.
A method of operating a heart catheter having a braided conductive member comprising a plurality of partially insulated filaments, the braided conductive member comprising a plurality of ablation filaments for applying ablative energy to a surface of a heart, the plurality of ablation filaments comprising a first ablation filament having a first uninsulated portion and a second ablation filament having a second uninsulated portion in contact with the first portion when the braided conductive member is in a deployed configuration, and one or more mapping filaments for measuring an electrical signal at a surface of the heart, the method comprising expanding the braided conductive member into the deployed configuration, contacting a selected location of the heart with the braided conductive member, and activating the plurality of ablation filaments and the one or more mapping filaments concurrently.
A method for treating a condition of a heart, comprising an act of:
- using a catheter having an expandable braided conductive member comprising a distally-facing ablative ring comprising uninsulated portions of filaments having a generally ring-shaped configuration to create a lesion at a wall of the right atrium at the fossa ovalis and/or a wall of the left atrium at the fossa ovalis, wherein the lesion is formed by the distally-facing ablative ring.
A method for treating atrial fibrillation in a heart, comprising acts of:
- introducing a catheter into the heart, the catheter having a braided conductive member comprising a plurality of partially insulated filaments at a distal end thereof, wherein the braided conductive member comprises an ablative ring comprising uninsulated portions of filaments having a generally ring-shaped configuration;
- expanding the braided conductive member into a deployed configuration;
- contacting a selected location of the heart with the braided conductive member;
- and
- using the braided conductive member to ablate a region of the heart that serves as an electrical pathway between that left atrium and the right atrium of the heart to alter the conductivity of the electrical pathway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.