Key result
Noncontact radio-frequency ablation at an optimal distance of 0.5 to 1.5 mm increased myocardial lesion depth to 9.5 mm compared to 7.5 mm with standard contact ablation.
Why the study?
Does noncontact radio-frequency ablation increase lesion depth in myocardium compared to contact ablation?
Does noncontact radio-frequency ablation increase lesion depth in myocardium compared to contact ablation?
Absolute Event Rate: 9.5% vs 7.5%
Noncontact radio-frequency ablation at an optimal distance of 0.5 to 1.5 mm can create deeper myocardial lesions than standard contact ablation in an experimental model.
Noncontact RF ablation may deepen lesions in animal models; leaves open translation to human practice pending trials.
Radio-frequency (RF) cardiac catheter ablation has been very successful for treating some cardiac arrhythmias, however, the success rate for ventricular tachycardias is still not satisfactory. Some existing methods for developing deeper lesions include active cooling of the electrode and modifying the electrode shape. We propose a method of noncontact ablation, to solve this problem. We apply 120 W of power through an 8-mm electrode for a 120-s duration, with distances from 0 to 3 mm between electrode and myocardium, to create lesions in myocardium. We apply flow rates of 1, 3, and 5 L/min to determine their effect. Results show that with an optimal distance from 0.5 to 1.5 mm between electrode and myocardium, we increase lesion depth from 7.5 mm for contact ablation to 9.5 mm for noncontact ablation. For different flow rates, the optimal distance various. The effect of flow rate is not obvious. Higher flow rate does not lead to a deeper lesion.
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Zhang et al. (2003) studied Ventricular tachycardias. Noncontact radio-frequency ablation vs. Contact ablation (0 mm distance) was evaluated on Lesion depth. Noncontact radio-frequency ablation at an optimal distance of 0.5 to 1.5 mm increased myocardial lesion depth to 9.5 mm compared to 7.5 mm with standard contact ablation.
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