Methods and system for atrial fibrillation ablation using a fluoroscopy and/or medical images based cardiac mapping system with optional esophageal temperature monitoring

A mapping system for balloon based catheters comprises:

• a computer based cardiac mapping system comprising software and hardware, and capable of utilizing fluoroscopy and/or medical image(s) wherein, said mapping system further capable of monitoring esophageal temperature;
• an interface electronics connected to said computer based cardiac mapping system, for acquiring a patient's electrical signals and said fluoroscopy and/or medical image(s);
• said mapping system further comprises capability for monitoring of esophageal temperature and triggering of alarms or ablation energy cutoff based on pre-determined values of the esophageal temperature, and
• said software in said computer based cardiac mapping system configured and programmed for overlaying two or more of said fluoroscopy and/or medical image(s) on top of each other, wherein a transparency factor between said two or more images of said fluoroscopy and/or medical images(s) can be adjusted for aiding in placing a balloon based catheter(s) in an appropriate location in left atrium and/or around pulmonary vein(s).

A method of cardiac mapping for balloon based catheter ablations comprises the steps of:

• gathering and displaying a fluoroscopy and/or medical image(s);
• acquiring and displaying a patient's cardiac signals through an interface electronics;
• placing a computed tomography (CT) image next to two layers of fluoroscopy images on top of each other;
• and
• placing a balloon based catheter at an appropriate location for ablation/freezing in left atrium and/or around pulmonary veins utilizing said two layers of fluoroscopy images on top of each other and adjusting a transparency between said two layers of fluoroscopy images.