Technologies

Invention

Lesion size or volume prediction shortly after the beginning of an ablation procedure can inform and/or control the ablation process. The prediction and/or control is made without regard to an actual detected temperature in the vicinity of the ablation electrodes. As a consequence, the system has utility with irrigated catheter constructions and other situations in which local irrigation in the vicinity of an ablation site would otherwise interfere with a prediction or control scheme that solely relies upon temperature measurements.

Background

Radio frequency ablation (RFA) is a medical procedure used to treat a medical disorder where part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, tumor or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from a high frequency alternating current. Cardiac arrhythmias that originate from a focal area or depend upon a discrete circuit can be eliminated by catheter ablation. Various energy sources are utilized for this purpose of which radio frequency (RF) energy of 200 kHz-500 kHz is most commonly employed and is delivered to electrodes on the tip of a catheter. Heating occurs due to power dissipation within the tissue of the energy delivered by the electrodes. Power density decreases in relation to the square of the distance from the electrode.