Ablation catheter with flexible tip and methods of making the same
AssigneeSt. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc.
InventorsCarlo Pappone, Alan de la Rama, Peter Chen, Cary Hata, Jared A Shimizu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A flexible tip electrode for an ablation catheter and methods for making the same are disclosed. The electrode has a surface configuration that improves flexibility of the electrode. Also, the surface configuration may allow electrode lengthwise freedom of movement, such that the electrode may be shortened when pressed against the target tissue. A coil may be located in the electrode to bias the electrode toward a predetermined configuration.
Claims38
An ablation catheter comprising:
- a catheter body;
- a hollow elongated tip electrode disposed at a distal end of the catheter body, the tip electrode comprising a sidewall provided with one or more elongated gaps extending through the sidewall, the one or more elongated gaps providing flexibility in the sidewall for bending movement of the tip electrode relative to a longitudinal axis of the catheter body;
- a fluid delivery lumen in communication with the one or more elongate gaps, wherein the lumen is adapted to be coupled to an irrigation system such that when a cooling fluid is delivered in the lumen, it passes through the one or more elongate gaps to outside of the electrode;
- and
- a biasing member configured to impart a stretching force on the electrode and bias the electrode to stretch in an endwise direction relative to a longitudinal axis of the electrode.
An ablation catheter comprising:
- an elongate electrode having a cylindrical hollow body;
- defined by a wall having a pattern of one or more elongate gaps extending through a thickness of the wall, the elongate gaps providing axial freedom of movement and allowing the electrode to shorten its axial length when a force is applied to the electrode;
- a fluid delivery lumen in communication with the one or more elongate gaps, wherein the lumen is adapted to be coupled to an irrigation system such that when a cooling fluid is delivered in the lumen, it passes through the one or more elongate gaps to outside of the electrode;
- and
- a biasing member configured to impart a stretching force on the electrode body and bias the electrode to stretch in an endwise direction relative to a longitudinal axis.
An electrode for an ablation catheter, the electrode comprising:
- a hollow electrode body defined by a sidewall extending along a longitudinal axis, wherein the sidewall is provided with a pattern including one or more elongate gaps extending through a thickness of the wall, the elongate gaps imparting flexibility to the sidewall to adopt different operating configurations relative to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a biasing member configured to impart a stretching force on the electrode body and bias the electrode to stretch in an endwise direction relative to the longitudinal axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.