Title :
Cathether contact geometry affects lesion formation in radio-frequency cardiac catheter ablation
Author :
Gallagher, Neal P. ; Fear, Elise C. ; Vigmond, Edward J. ; Byrd, Israel A.
Author_Institution :
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4
fDate :
Aug. 30 2011-Sept. 3 2011
Abstract :
One factor which may be important for determining proper lesion creation in an atrial ablation procedure is catheter-endocardial contact. Little information is available that relates geometric contact, depth and angle, to ablation lesion formation. We present an electrothermal computer model of ablation that calculates lesion volume and temperature development over time. The Pennes bioheat equation was coupled to a quasistatic electrical problem. This method simulates importantly, not just catheter penetration depth, but also several different incident catheter angles as may occur in practise. Results show that for deeply penetrating tips, greater catheter angles reduce the rate of temperature buildup, allowing for larger lesions to form before temperatures become dangerous. It was also found that greater penetration may not lead to greater transmurality in lesion formation. We conclude that catheter contact angle plays a significant role in lesion formation, and the time course must be considered. This is clinically relevant because it makes proper identification and prediction of geometric contact variables a necessity in order to improve ablation efficacy and safety.
Keywords :
Biological tissues; Blood; Catheters; Lesions; Mathematical model; Myocardium; Radio frequency; Body Temperature; Catheter Ablation; Computer Simulation; Heart Conduction System; Humans; Models, Cardiovascular; Surgery, Computer-Assisted;
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC, 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4121-1
Electronic_ISBN :
1557-170X
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6090046