A catheter having an ablation electrode with at least one microelectrode configured to sense monophasic action potential signals and a force sensor configured to sense contact force of the microelectrode against tissue surface, may be used to acquire pre-ablation MAP signals with monophasic characteristics and post-ablation MAP signals to determine presence or absence of monophasic characteristics in the latter in assessing quality or success of ablation procedure and lesion formation.

A multi-lumen catheter can be used to measure pressure at multiple locations within the vasculature. The multi-lumen catheter can include multiple segments, such as a proximal portion, an intermediate portion, and a distal portion. A segment of a multi-lumen catheter may differ from another segment of the same multi-lumen catheter in radiodensity, hardness, and/or some other characteristic. Some multi-lumen catheters are designed to permit measurements of pressure in different lumens.

Apparatus comprises: (a) a longitudinal member (32), having a distal portion (34); (b) a plurality of electrodes (38) disposed on the distal portion of the longitudinal member, such that a first electrode (38a) of the plurality of electrodes is disposed distally along the longitudinal member from a second electrode (38b) of the plurality of electrodes; and (c) a controller (40). The controller comprises an actuator, and circuitry (42) electrically connected to the electrodes via the longitudinal member. The actuator is configured to move the longitudinal member in discrete incremental movements such that for each incremental movement, (i) before the incremental movement the first electrode is disposed in a starting position, (ii) during each incremental movement the actuator moves second electrode toward the starting position, and (iii) at the end of each incremental movement the second electrode is stationary at the starting position.

A catheter has a distal assembly with at least one loop with ring electrodes. A single continuous puller wire for bidirectional deflection is pre-bent into two long portions and a U-shape bend therebetween. The U-shape bend is anchored at a distal end of a deflectable section which is reinforced by at least one washer having at least two holes, each hole axially aligned with a respective lumen in the deflectable section. Each hole is centered with a lumen so that each puller wire portion therethrough is straight and subjected to tensile force only. A proximal end of the support member is flattened and serrated to provide a better bonding to the distal end of the deflectable section.

Cardiac tissue ablation catheters including an inflatable and flexible toroidal or spherically shaped balloon disposed at a distal region of an elongate member, a flexible circuit carried by an outer surface of the balloon, the flexible circuit including, a plurality of flexible branches conforming to the radially outer surface of the balloon, each of the plurality of flexible branches including a substrate, a conductive trace carried by the substrate, and an ablation electrode carried by the substrate, the ablation electrode in electrical communication with the conductive trace, and an elongate shaft comprising a guidewire lumen extending in the elongate member and extending from a proximal region of the inflatable balloon to distal region of the inflatable balloon and being disposed within the inflatable balloon, wherein a distal region of the elongate shaft is secured directly or indirectly to the distal region of the inflatable balloon.

An esophageal deflection device includes an elongate outer tube that has a natural curved deflection at a position that corresponds to a targeted esophagus region for deflection. The outer diameter of the outer tube is substantially matched to an inner diameter of the esophagus to closely contact the esophagus wall, or is at least half of the inner diameter, or is smaller and includes suction ports for drawing the esophagus wall inward. An insertion rod or tube includes a portion that is stiffer than the curved deflection, and slides into the elongate outer tube to straighten the tube and can serve to guide the deflection device into an esophagus. Subsequent withdrawal of the insertion tube or rod will allow the curved deflection to return to its natural shape and deflect the targeted region of the esophagus. A three-dimensional array of temperature sensors can be disposed near an outer surface of the elongate outer tube.

The disclosed apparatus comprises an intravascular sheath and dilator that can be placed over a guidewire after percutaneous vascular access. One or more electrodes are positioned axially at or near the distal end of the dilator, facilitating guidance of the sheath to the heart without fluoroscopy (i.e., by using electrical and/or magnetic guidance). The electrodes are in electrical conductance with leads via wires that extending proximally from the electrodes on or through the wall of the dilator or sheath.

Aspects of the instant disclosure relate to an elongated medical device. In particular, the instant disclosure relates to apparatuses for sensing contact force. In various embodiments, a force sensing element including a tip and a catheter shaft, wherein the tip is configured to move relative to the shaft when an external force is applied to the tip comprising a transmitter configured to transmit a transmitter signal when external force is applied to the tip, a first plurality of sensors and a second plurality of sensors positioned proximate the transmitter, wherein each of the sensors is configured to receive the transmitter signal and the first plurality of sensors is longitudinally offset from the second plurality of sensors.

The invention relates to a tissue monitoring apparatus, a tissue monitoring method and an ablation lesion monitoring, measuring, and controlling automated algorithm incorporating diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and/or Arrhenius model thermal denaturation kinetics for determining the characteristics of the lesion or the tissue, especially for identifying the transmurality of the ablation lesion. The invention pertains to a device for and method of real time monitoring of lesion formation as ablation is being carried out.

A catheter has a distal assembly with at least one loop with ring electrodes. A single continuous puller wire for bidirectional deflection is pre-bent into two long portions and a U-shape bend therebetween. The U-shape bend is anchored at a distal end of a deflectable section which is reinforced by at least one washer having at least two holes, each hole axially aligned with a respective lumen in the deflectable section. Each hole is centered with a lumen so that each puller wire portion therethrough is straight and subjected to tensile force only. A proximal end of the support member is flattened and serrated to provide a better bonding to the distal end of the deflectable section.