Radio-Frequency Catheter Ablation for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation: The Influence of Probe Contact on Impedance and Lesion Formation
Date
2012-10-01
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Abstract
Radio-Frequency (RF) catheter ablation is a promising, minimally invasive treatment modality in the battle against the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, Atrial Fibrillation (AF). While it is known that catheter contact affects the size and shape of lesions produced during an ablation procedure, little has been done to quantify this effect. The purpose of this research was to establish a framework to determine the relationship between contact and lesion formation, and how contact can be assessed using electrical impedance.
First, an electroquasistatic computer model was created to approximate the Left Atrium (LA) and the complex impedance was calculated. It was found that impedance varies in proportion to catheter contact area; not just to penetration depth as popularly thought.
Finally, a thermal model was implemented. It was found that angle can significantly affect lesion sizes. Interestingly, lesion formation rates were highly dependent on catheter contact area while the transient response of the maximum temperature detected in the tissue was more dependent on catheter penetration depth.
Clinically, these discoveries are a step towards understanding the electrical and thermal behaviours that are inherent in cardiac ablation.
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Keywords
Electricity and Magnetism, Engineering--Biomedical, Engineering--Electronics and Electrical
Citation
Gallagher, N. (2012). Radio-Frequency Catheter Ablation for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation: The Influence of Probe Contact on Impedance and Lesion Formation (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27520