US20090054803A1
Active / In Force
US
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Electrophysiology mapping and visualization system
Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc
•
Filing: 2007-08-31
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2027-08-31
Abstract
Abstract Electrophysiology mapping and visualization systems are described herein where such devices may be used to visualize tissue regions as well as map the electrophysiological activity of the tissue. Such a system may include a deployment catheter and an attached hood deployable into an expanded configuration. In use, the imaging hood is placed against or adjacent to a region of tissue to be imaged in a body lumen that is normally filled with an opaque bodily fluid such as blood. A translucent or transparent fluid, such as saline, can be pumped into the imaging hood until the fluid displaces any blood, thereby leaving a clear region of tissue to be imaged via an imaging element in the deployment catheter. A position of the catheter and/or hood may be tracked and the hood may also be used to detect the electrophysiological activity of the visualized tissue for mapping.
Inventors
- 👤 Vahid Saadat
- 👤 Ruey-Feng Peh
- 👤 Edmund A. Tam
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 11:44
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B5/00; A61B5/0059; A61B5/0082; A61B5/0084; A61B1/00; A61B1/00064; A61B1/00071; A61B1/0008; A61B1/00082; A61B1/00085; A61B1/00089; A61B1/00097; A61B1/005; A61B1/012; A61B1/015; A61B1/018; A61B1/04; A61B17/00; A61B17/12; A61B17/12022; A61B17/12027; A61B17/1204; A61B17/12045; A61B17/34; A61B17/3415; A61B17/3417; A61B17/3421; A61B17/3423; A61B34/00; A61B34/20; A61B5/02; A61B5/02007; A61B5/24; A61B5/25; A61B5/279; A61B5/28; A61B5/283; A61B5/287; A61B5/68; A61B5/6846; A61B5/6879; A61B5/6882; A61B90/00; A61B90/36; A61M; A61M5/00; A61M5/007; A61B17/04; A61B17/0487; A61B17/22; A61B17/221; A61B18/00; A61B18/02; A61B2017/00017; A61B2017/00022; A61B2017/00039; A61B2017/00044; A61B2017/00048; A61B2017/00053; A61B17/00234; A61B2017/00292; A61B2017/00296; A61B2017/003; A61B17/0057; A61B2017/00575; A61B17/0401; A61B2017/0409; A61B17/0469; A61B2017/0477; A61B2017/12127; A61B2017/22038; A61B2017/22051; A61B2017/22054; A61B2017/22065; A61B2017/22067; A61B2017/22069; A61B2017/22082; A61B2017/3445; A61B2017/348; A61B2017/3482; A61B2017/3484; A61B2017/3488; A61B2018/00982; A61B2018/0212; A61B34/10; A61B2034/107; A61B2034/2046; A61B2034/2051; A61B34/30; A61B2034/301; A61B90/30; A61B2090/306; A61B2090/309; A61B90/361; A61B2090/3614; A61B90/37; A61B2090/373; A61B90/39; A61B2090/3954; A61B2090/3958; A61B5/0002; A61B5/0031; A61B8/00; A61B8/12; A61B8/44; A61B8/4444; A61B8/4472
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 45
Claim 1
Independent Claim
117 words
1 . A treatment and/or diagnostic system for use in a chamber of a heart, the chamber containing blood, the system comprising: an articulatable catheter; an imaging assembly supported by the catheter, the imaging assembly configured to acquire a tissue surface image of a tissue surface region of the chamber while at least a portion of the blood is disposed in the chamber; at least one sensor configured to detect an electrical activity of the tissue surface; and a processor coupled to the imaging assembly and the at least one sensor so as to receive the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image, the processor configured to map the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image together.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
117 words
1 . A treatment and/or diagnostic system for use in a chamber of a heart, the chamber containing blood, the system comprising: an articulatable catheter; an imaging assembly supported by the catheter, the imaging assembly configured to acquire a tissue surface image of a tissue surface region of the chamber while at least a portion of the blood is disposed in the chamber; at least one sensor configured to detect an electrical activity of the tissue surface; and a processor coupled to the imaging assembly and the at least one sensor so as to receive the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image, the processor configured to map the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image together.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the imaging assembly comprises a fluid path for locally displacing blood from an area of the chamber bordering the tissue surface region.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
3 . The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor is mounted on the catheter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
47 words
4 . The system of claim 1 wherein the catheter is coupled to a tracking system for generating location signals associated with the tissue surface image, and wherein the processor registers the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image using the location signals from the tracking system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
62 words
5 . The system of claim 4 wherein the processor is configured to receive a plurality of tissue surface images and a plurality of electrical activity signals from a plurality of electrical activity sensing locations, and wherein the processor transmits an output signal with at least some of the electrical activity signals superimposed with at least some of the tissue surface images.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
61 words
6 . The system of claim 4 wherein the at least one sensor is mounted on an electrophysiology catheter having a tracking system for generating electrophysiology tracking signals, and wherein the electrophysiology catheter is coupleable to the processor, the processor registering the detected electrical activity to the tissue surface image in response to the location signals and the electrophysiology tracking signals.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
7 . The system of claim 1 wherein the imaging assembly comprises a barrier or membrane.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
8 . The system of claim 7 further comprising an imaging element positioned within or along the barrier or membrane such that the tissue region adjacent to the open area is able to be visualized via the imaging element.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
9 . The system of claim 8 wherein the imaging element comprises a CMOS, CCD, or optical fiber imager.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
10 . The system of claim 8 wherein the imaging element is disposed within a distal end of the catheter.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
11 . The system of claim 8 wherein the imaging element is articulatable off-axis relative to a longitudinal axis of the catheter.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
12 . The system of claim 7 wherein the barrier or membrane has an open area in communication with a fluid lumen defined through the catheter.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
13 . The system of claim 12 further comprising a fluid reservoir fluidly coupled to the barrier or membrane via the fluid lumen.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
14 . The system of claim 13 wherein the fluid reservoir comprises saline, plasma, water, or perfluorinated liquid.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
32 words
15 . The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor is further configured to detect an orientation and/or location of the barrier or membrane relative to the tissue region.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
16 . The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a metallic strut spirally disposed along the barrier or membrane.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
17 . The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one coil sensor positioned along or upon the barrier or membrane along a first axis relative to the barrier or membrane.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
18 . The system of claim 17 further comprising a second coil sensor positioned along or upon the barrier or membrane along a second axis relative to the barrier or membrane, wherein the second axis is transverse to the first axis.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
43 words
19 . The system of claim 18 further comprising a third coil sensor positioned along or upon the barrier or membrane along a third axis relative to the barrier or membrane, wherein the third axis is transverse to the first and second axes.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
20 . The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a triple coil sensor positioned along or upon the barrier or membrane.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
44 words
21 . The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one reference sensor positioned along the catheter proximal to the barrier or membrane such that the reference sensor is coincident with an anatomical landmark when the catheter is introduced within a patient body.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
22 . The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one sensor comprises an electrode positioned along the barrier or membrane.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
22 words
23 . The system of claim 22 further comprising a plurality of electrodes positioned about a circumference of the barrier or membrane.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
27 words
24 . The system of claim 23 further comprising a plurality of additional electrodes positioned along at least one support strut disposed along the barrier or membrane.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
25 . The system of claim 2 wherein the processor is configured to generate a map of the electrical activity of the tissue region detected via the sensor.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
36 words
26 . The system of claim 25 wherein the processor is further configured to correlate the map of the electrical activity with a visual image of the tissue region against or adjacent to the open area.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
74 words
27 . A treatment and/or diagnostic method for use in a chamber of a heart, the system comprising: acquiring a tissue surface image of a tissue surface region of the chamber while blood is disposed in the chamber; detecting an electrical activity of the tissue surface region; mapping the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image; and diagnosing and/or treating the heart in response to the mapped detected electrical activity and tissue surface image.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
74 words
27 . A treatment and/or diagnostic method for use in a chamber of a heart, the system comprising: acquiring a tissue surface image of a tissue surface region of the chamber while blood is disposed in the chamber; detecting an electrical activity of the tissue surface region; mapping the detected electrical activity and tissue surface image; and diagnosing and/or treating the heart in response to the mapped detected electrical activity and tissue surface image.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
83 words
28 . A method of sensing a tissue region within a body lumen, comprising: positioning an open area of a barrier or membrane against or adjacent to the tissue region to be sensed; displacing an opaque fluid with a transparent fluid from the open area defined by the barrier or membrane and the tissue region; visualizing the tissue region within the open area through the transparent fluid; and detecting an electrical activity of the tissue region against or adjacent to the open area.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
83 words
28 . A method of sensing a tissue region within a body lumen, comprising: positioning an open area of a barrier or membrane against or adjacent to the tissue region to be sensed; displacing an opaque fluid with a transparent fluid from the open area defined by the barrier or membrane and the tissue region; visualizing the tissue region within the open area through the transparent fluid; and detecting an electrical activity of the tissue region against or adjacent to the open area.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
23 words
29 . The method of claim 28 wherein positioning comprises advancing the barrier or membrane into a left atrial chamber of a heart.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
25 words
30 . The method of claim 28 wherein positioning comprises deploying the barrier or membrane from a low-profile delivery configuration into an expanded deployed configuration.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
23 words
31 . The method of claim 28 wherein positioning comprises stabilizing a position of the barrier or membrane relative to the tissue region.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
30 words
32 . The method of claim 28 wherein displacing an opaque fluid comprises infusing the transparent fluid into the open area through a fluid delivery lumen defined through the catheter.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
31 words
33 . The method of claim 32 wherein infusing the transparent fluid comprises pumping saline, plasma, water, or perfluorinated liquid into the open area such that blood is displaced from therefrom.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
24 words
34 . The method of claim 28 wherein visualizing comprises viewing the tissue region via an imaging element positioned within the barrier or membrane.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
22 words
35 . The method of claim 34 wherein the imaging element is positioned along in inner surface of the barrier or membrane.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
20 words
36 . The method of claim 34 wherein the imaging element comprises a CMOS imager, CCD imager, or optical fiber.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
19 words
37 . The method of claim 28 wherein detecting comprises sensing the electrical activity via at least one sensor.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
22 words
38 . The method of claim 37 wherein the at least one sensor is disposed upon or along the barrier or membrane.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
30 words
39 . The method of claim 28 wherein detecting comprises sensing the electrical activity via a plurality of sensors positioned upon or along a circumference of the barrier or membrane.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
24 words
40 . The method of claim 28 further comprising determining an orientation and/or location of the barrier or membrane relative to the tissue region.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
18 words
41 . The method of claim 28 further comprising mapping the detected electrical activity of the tissue region.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
24 words
42 . The method of claim 41 further comprising overlaying a map of the detected electrical activity with visual images of the tissue region.
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