DE202019101059U1 - Temperature power ablation - Google Patents

Abstract

Ablation catheter with an electrode, wherein the electrode surrounds a force sensor and a temperature sensor.

Description

The disclosure relates to an ablation catheter having a temperature force ablation electrode.

Ablation catheters are used to ablate certain areas of the heart and suppress conduction in these areas. One aspect of ablation is the measurement of the force with which an ablation electrode presses against the heart wall.

Known solutions work with a strain gauge or (or more) Bragg grating (s) with which the deformation of the catheter is measured as a result of the applied force. The temperature is determined by thermocouples or thermistor in the immediate vicinity of the electrode.

The known solutions are very complex in structure and therefore expensive to implement. This increases the construction of the catheter and reduces the number of possible ablation points on a catheter. It may also be more difficult to penetrate the catheter into narrow arteries.

The document US 2009/0163916 A1 discloses an ablation catheter having an electrode of a flexible conductive material (polymer) whose electrical resistance changes with pressure. A temperature sensor is also provided.

The document CA 2 728 803 A1 describes an ablation catheter with a sophisticated force sensor in the tip. Again, the temperature can be determined.

More ablation catheters are in the documents US 2010/0168738 A1 and US 2009/0171343 A1 shown.

A structure is described which makes it possible to integrate a force measurement and a temperature measurement into an ablation electrode in a very compact manner.

There is disclosed an ablation catheter having an electrode, the electrode surrounding a force sensor and a temperature sensor.

By integrating the force and temperature measurement directly into the ablation electrode, the ablation catheter design can be simplified. This makes the catheter significantly more compact and less expensive.

• 1 eine erste Ausführungsform einer Ablationselektrode und
• 2 eine zweite Ausführungsform einer Ablationselektrode.

In the following, exemplary embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. Show it:

• 1 a first embodiment of an ablation electrode and
• 2 a second embodiment of an ablation electrode.

Hereinafter, like reference numerals are used for like components.

1 shows a first embodiment of an ablation electrode. The ablation electrode 2 is on a thin, flexible substrate 1 built up. This is directly under the ablation electrode 2 a temperature measurement with a thermocouple 4 (eg a thermocouple or a thermistor junction). Due to the spatial proximity between the ablation electrode 2 and the thermocouple 4 governs the temperature measurement very quickly and very precisely. The ablation electrode 2 can for example consist of gold or platinum.

The ablation electrode 2 is thereby by a dielectric 3 from the thermocouple 4 separated. The dielectric 3 is designed so that change its electrical properties (resistance and / or capacity) at an applied pressure. The following materials are suitable for the dielectric: polymers with embedded metallic nanoparticles or carbon nanotubes (carbon nanotubes), piezoelectric polymers (eg PVDF, P (VDF-TrFE)).

Because the metal of the ablation electrode 2 is quite thin (<2μm) and the surface is quite flat, the "supporting" force of the metal structure is very low and the force is given to a very large extent to the plastic interface. In the illustrated embodiment, the electrode is configured to encapsulate all sensory elements. This has the advantage that the biocompatibility of the individual materials is quite uncritical. An embodiment in which this is not the case, but is also possible. Then, the electrode may be made to fully transmit the force to the sensor (not shown).

In a second embodiment, the thermocouple is 4 through an electrically insulating layer 5 from the dielectric 3 electrically isolated. This is in 2 shown.

Almost direct measurement of force and temperature during ablation improves the ablation result very significantly. The construction disclosed here makes this possible very cost-effectively.

The features disclosed in the specification, the claims and the figures can be used for the realization of both individually as well as in any combination with each other be relevant.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• US 2009/0163916 A1 [0005]
• CA 2728803 A1 [0006]
• US 2010/0168738 A1 [0007]
• US 2009/0171343 A1 [0007]

Claims (1)

Ablation catheter with an electrode, wherein the electrode surrounds a force sensor and a temperature sensor.

Images