An image generation apparatus includes a plurality of electrodes, a plurality of sensor cells, and a controller configured to provide a tomographic image of a measurement object on the basis of an intensity of a magnetic field generated by an alternating current supplied via the plurality of electrodes. The controller acquires the intensity of the magnetic field via the plurality of sensor cells.

The present invention relates to a suction instrument, more particularly a bipolar mapping suction instrument, for surgical purposes and to a system for suctioning fluids and tissue and for monitoring nerve tissue. The suction instrument comprises a cannula unit, which comprises an electrically conductive outer cannula tube, an electrically conductive inner cannula tube, and insulation. The electrically conductive inner cannula tube is electrically connected to a first pole of the bipolar electrical connection of the second interface. The electrically conductive inner cannula tube is arranged concentrically in the outer cannula tube which optionally can be insulated from the exterior. The electrically conductive inner cannula tube is mechanically connected to the handpiece and/or the first interface. The electrically conductive outer cannula tube is electrically connected to a second pole of the bipolar electrical connection of the second interface. The insulation is concentrically arranged between the outer cannula tube and the inner cannula tube. The insulation is configured to fully electrically isolate the outer cannula tube and the inner cannula tube in relation to one another.

A stretch-measurement probe includes an elongate outer sleeve, expansion feature associated with a distal portion of the outer sleeve, and an elongate inner rod disposed at least partially within the outer sleeve. The expansion feature is configured to allow a longitudinal distance between a proximal end of the outer sleeve and the distal end of the outer sleeve to be varied.

There is provided a computerized method of tracking a position of an intra-body catheter, comprising: physically tracking coordinates of the position of a distal portion of a physical catheter within the physical body portion of the patient according to physically applied plurality of electrical fields within the body portion and measurements of the plurality of electrical fields performed by a plurality of physical electrodes at a distal portion of the physical catheter; registering the physically tracked coordinates with simulated coordinates generated according to a simulation of a simulated catheter within a simulation of the body of the patient, to identify differences between physically tracked location coordinates and the simulation coordinates; correcting the physically tracked location coordinates according to the registered simulation coordinates; and providing the corrected physically tracked location coordinates for presentation.

An apparatus includes a current source, an electronic circuit and a circuit board. The current source is configured to flow an electrical current having a selected frequency between a pair of electrodes coupled to a medical probe. The electronic circuit is configured to measure a single-ended voltage relative to ground that is formed on at least one of the electrodes in the pair in response to the electrical current, and, based on the measured voltage, to assess physical contact between the at least one of the electrodes and tissue. The circuit board includes the current source and the electronic circuit, and includes a layout that produces, at the selected frequency, a predefined capacitance between the current source and ground, thus forming a reference for measurement of the single-ended voltage.

Heart tissue electrical activity mapping used to guide the placement of devices to intervene in (treat) structural heart disease. In some embodiments, the intervention comprises placement of an implantable device, and/or positioning of a therapeutic device used to remove and/or remodel tissue. In some embodiments, electrical activity mapping is performed along with spatial mapping of a body cavity. In some embodiments, the intervention device position is compared to the measured positions of anatomical structures critical to heart electrical function to assess and/or prevent complications due to the device damaging heart electrical function.

A patch and sensor assembly has a biosensor housed in a reusable portion that connects to a mapping and localization system (MLS) via biosensor wires. A disposable portion has an electrode layer through which signals are transmitted to the MLS via ACL wires. The biosensor and ACL wires extend through a single cable exiting the reusable portion. The disposable portion includes an adhesive layer for adhering the electrode layer to a patient, on the electrode layer, and an engagement element for detachably receiving at least a portion of the housing of the reusable portion. The reusable portion includes a housing in which the biosensor has biosensor wires that exit the reusable portion. The housing is also adapted to carry and/or provide support to an ACL contact member responsive to the electrode layer of the disposable portion, and ACL wires that exit the reusable portion.

An automatic method of categorizing the contact force of a catheter tip against a portion of a patient's heart based on motion of the catheter tip, the method comprising (a) capturing a series of 3D-coordinate data points of the catheter tip as a function of discrete times with a 3D medical imaging system, the 3D coordinates corresponding to an orthogonal 3-axis spatial coordinate system, (b) using a programmable computing system, computing a set of measures based on the series of 3D-coordinate data points, (c) categorizing each measure by a respective set of predetermined threshold values; and (d) combining the categorized measures to yield a relative quality of the contact force.

A system for differentiating between magnetic field distortion and physical movement in a hybrid magnetic and impedance tracking system can comprise a first drive patch and a second drive patch configured to generate an electrical field within the body for locating an electrode on the medical device, a magnetic localization system configured to generate a magnetic field, a magnetic sensor configured to receive signals from the magnetic localization system, and an electronic control unit configured to receive location data from the impedance localization system and magnetic sensor location data from the magnetic localization system. The electronic control circuit can be configured to detect a location change of the magnetic sensor and use the drive patch location data and magnetic sensor location data to determine whether the detected location change of the magnetic sensor is caused by a magnetic field distortion or a physical movement of the magnetic sensor.

A method, including receiving, from electrodes positioned within a heart, first signals from at least three of the electrodes indicating electrical activity in tissue with which the at least three of the electrodes engage, and second signals indicating locations of the at least three electrodes. The second signals are processed to compute the locations of the at least three electrodes and to determine a geometric center of the locations. Based on the signals, an electroanatomical map is generated for an area of the tissue including the geometric center, and an arrhythmia focus is determined in the map. A circle is presented, and within the circle, a region of the map is presented including the geometric center and the focus so that the geometric center on the map aligns with a center of the circle, the region within the circle indicating a spatial relationship between the geometric center and the focus.