This technology is a catheter-based optical method for ensuring proper catheter contact with cardiac tissue prior to radiofrequency ablation, in order to improve accuracy for cardiac arrhythmia treatment.
Catheter ablation is the standard therapy for many common forms of arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat, rhythm or rate), and the only treatment that provides a potential cure. This method utilizes a catheter directed to the heart and applies radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to destroy damaged regions of cardiac tissue that may be causing the arrhythmia. However, the outcomes of this method are variable and many patients require two or more surgeries to successfully treat the arrhythmia, as the success of treatment is reliant on contact quality between the catheter and cardiac tissue. There is a need for innovative methods that can determine proper contact between the catheter and cardiac tissue prior to RFA, in order to improve patient outcomes and treat arrhythmia.
This technology determines whether the catheter is in proper contact with the cardiac tissue prior to RFA. Cardiac tissue is characterized and mapped using near-infrared optical techniques, and a machine learning algorithm determines if the catheter has made proper contact with the tissue. Taken together, this catheter-based optical method allows a surgeon to more accurately perform RFA, reduce surgical error, and ultimately improve patient outcomes by minimizing the need for follow-up procedures.
Preliminary validation experiments performed in human and pig hearts, ex vivo, determined that this technology enables characterization of cardiac tissues and improves guidance for RFA therapy.
IR CU17035
Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu