System and methods for locating and ablating arrhythomogenic tissues

Abstract

A catheter for sensing electrical events about a selected annulus region of the heart and for treating tissue in the selected annulus region has a handle assembly, a shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle assembly, a first expandable member provided at the distal end of the shaft, and a second expandable member positioned adjacent to, but spaced apart from, the first expandable member. The second expandable member has an ablation element that emits energy to a radially surrounding area to ablate tissue.

1 . A catheter for sensing electrical events about a selected annulus region of the heart and for treating tissue in the selected annulus region, comprising: 
 a handle assembly;    a shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle assembly, and a distal end, the shaft extending along an axis;    a first expandable member provided at the distal end;    a second expandable member positioned adjacent to, but spaced apart from, the first expandable member, the second expandable member having an ablation element; and    means for providing ablation energy to the ablation element.    
     
     
         2 . The catheter of  claim 1 , wherein the ablation element emits energy to a radially surrounding area.  
     
     
         3 . The catheter of  claim 1 , wherein the second expandable member covers the ablation element.  
     
     
         4 . The catheter of  claim 3 , wherein the second expandable member defines an interior space that is filled with a fluid.  
     
     
         5 . The catheter of  claim 2 , wherein the shaft has a main lumen, and further including a plurality of wires that are coupled to the ablation element and extending through the main lumen.  
     
     
         6 . The catheter of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft has a main lumen, and the catheter further includes a steering mechanism that includes a steering wire extending through the main lumen to the distal end.  
     
     
         7 . The catheter of  claim 1 , wherein the shaft has a main lumen, and further including a plurality of thermocouple wires that are coupled to the distal end and extending through the main lumen.  
     
     
         8 . The catheter of  claim 1 , wherein the expandable members are positioned side-by-side next to each other.  
     
     
         9 . The catheter of  claim 1 , further including an energy source coupled to the ablation element.  
     
     
         10 . The catheter of  claim 1 , further including means for introducing contrast medium to the distal end of the shaft.  
     
     
         11 . The catheter of  claim 1 , further including: 
 a contrast media tubing coupled to the handle assembly; and    a contrast media lumen extending through the shaft and out the distal end of the shaft, the contrast media lumen coupled to the contrast media tubing.    
     
     
         12 . The catheter of  claim 1 , wherein the maximum diameter of the second expandable member is greater than the maximum diameter of the first expandable member.  
     
     
         13 . A method of ablating tissue in a body cavity, comprising: 
 providing a catheter having a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, with the distal end of the shaft having an anchoring element and an ablation element that is separate from the mapping element;    positioning the anchoring element at the desired treatment location in the body cavity, including injecting contrast medium to the distal end of the catheter; and    actuating the ablation element to ablate the desired treatment location.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the step of providing a catheter includes: 
 providing the anchoring element in the form of a first expandable member; and    providing the ablation element in the form of a transducer housed inside a different second expandable member.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further including: 
 providing the second expandable member with a maximum diameter that is greater than the maximum diameter of the first expandable member.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the step of ablating the desired treatment location includes emitting energy to the desired treatment location.  
     
     
         17 . A system for sensing electrical events about a selected annulus region of the heart and for treating tissue in the selected annulus region, comprising: 
 (a) a first catheter having:    a handle assembly;    a shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle assembly, and a distal end, the shaft extending along an axis;    an ablation element provided adjacent the distal end of the shaft; and    an expandable member provided next to the ablation element;    (b) a second catheter having:    a handle assembly;    a shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle assembly of the second catheter, and a distal end, the shaft of the second catheter extending along an axis; and    a distal ring provided at the distal end of the shaft of the second catheter and oriented perpendicular to the axis of the shaft of the second catheter, the distal ring having a plurality of electrodes positioned in spaced-apart manner about the distal ring of the second catheter;    (c) an energy source coupled to the ablation element; and    (d) means coupled to the plurality of electrodes for processing electrical signals received from the plurality of electrodes.    
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein: 
 the expandable member is a first expandable member; and    the ablation element is a transducer housed inside a different second expandable member that is positioned proximal of the first expandable element.    
     
     
         19 . A catheter for sensing electrical events about a selected annulus region of the heart and for treating tissue in the selected annulus region, comprising: 
 a handle assembly;    a shaft having a proximal end coupled to the handle assembly, and a distal end, the shaft extending along an axis;    a first expandable member provided at the distal end;    a second expandable member positioned adjacent to, but spaced apart from, the first expandable member, the second expandable member having an ablation element; and    means for introducing a guidewire to the distal end.    
     
     
         20 . The catheter of  claim 19 , further including: 
 means for providing ablation energy to the ablation element.