In a computational model, ablation catheters with integrated mini electrodes were more suitable than distal ablation electrodes for distinguishing ablated from nonablated tissue in parallel position.
Does an ablation catheter with integrated mini electrodes improve the differentiation of ablated and nonablated tissue compared to standard distal electrodes in a computational model?
In a computational model, ablation catheters with integrated mini electrodes improved the spatial resolution for distinguishing ablated from nonablated tissue and detecting conduction gaps when positioned parallel to the tissue.
Radiofrequency ablation has become a first-line approach for curative therapy of many cardiac arrhythmias. Various existing catheter designs provide high spatial resolution to identify the best spot for performing ablation and to assess lesion formation. However, creation of transmural and nonconducting ablation lesions requires usage of catheters with larger electrodes and improved thermal conductivity, leading to reduced spatial sensitivity. As trade-off, an ablation catheter with integrated mini electrodes was introduced. The additional diagnostic benefit of this catheter is still not clear. In order to solve this issue, we implemented a computational setup with different ablation scenarios. Our in silico results show that peak-to-peak amplitudes of unipolar electrograms from mini electrodes are more suitable to differentiate ablated and nonablated tissue compared to electrograms from the distal ablation electrode. However, in orthogonal mapping position, no significant difference was observed between distal electrode and mini electrodes electrograms in the ablation scenarios. In conclusion, catheters with mini electrodes bring about additional benefit to distinguish ablated tissue from nonablated tissue in parallel position with high spatial resolution. It is feasible to detect conduction gaps in linear lesions with this catheter by evaluating electrogram data from mini electrodes.
Pollnow et al. (Sun,) conducted a other in Cardiac arrhythmias. Ablation catheter with integrated mini electrodes vs. Distal ablation electrode was evaluated on Differentiation of ablated and nonablated tissue. In a computational model, ablation catheters with integrated mini electrodes were more suitable than distal ablation electrodes for distinguishing ablated from nonablated tissue in parallel position.