Patent Application
20110028848
a. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to tissue mapping. In particular, this disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for detecting, locating, and mapping tissue interfaces, for example to generate maps and models of tissue thickness and optionally indices of patient condition.
b. Background Art
It is well known to utilize images and/or geometric models of a patient's heart chamber(s) in conjunction with cardiac diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, such as ablation procedures to treat atrial fibrillation and other cardiac rhythm disorders. It is also known to provide these images and/or geometric models with electrophysiological data, such as maps of electrical potential, overlaid thereon.
Information concerning the thickness of the tissue being mapped and/or treated may also be useful to a practitioner. Unfortunately, such information is presently not readily available to practitioners. While it is known to estimate thickness information from dual-axis fluoroscopic images or based upon the practitioner's histological experience, these methods are inherently subjective and therefore of reduced accuracy and usefulness to practitioners.
The present disclosure teaches, describes, depicts, claims, and provides methods and apparatus for detecting and measuring the location of tissue interfaces and locations where tissue meets body fluids so that relative or actual tissue thickness can be derived or displayed.
In one embodiment, accurate measurement of tissue thickness enables generation of localized tissue thickness maps based upon objective measurements as opposed to subjective estimates using a variety of localization regimes and imaging modalities.
In another embodiment, a family of devices for accurately measuring tissue thicknesses and associating the measured thicknesses with particular locations or coordinates as data points that can be used for tissue mapping of discrete portions and 3D chamber or modeling global portions of the cardiac anatomy of a subject.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system that can generate two-, three-, and four-dimensional maps and graphical representations of tissue thickness from data points that associate tissue thickness measurements with particular locations or coordinates at various times and during various parts of the cardiac cycle, thus allowing, for example, periodic review of the cardiac status and/or thickness of certain parts of a heart of a subject (e.g., the left ventricular free, or lateral, wall). In a variation on this aspect of the invention, a cardiac status or heart failure status index can be used alone or in conjunction with other physiologic parameters and characteristics of a subject to optimize therapy or therapies for the subject. Such measurements can be gated or taken during all or a portion of the cardiac cycle of the subject via EGM or surface ECG or via respiratory cycles. Such measurements can also be obtained at various heart rates or times of day (e.g., diurnal cycle).
According to a first aspect, a device for mapping thickness of anatomical structures includes: an elongate catheter body having a distal end portion; at least one localization element carried by the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body to measure a location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body via a localization system; at least one pulse-echo transducer carried by the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body, wherein the at least one pulse-echo transducer is adapted to measure a thickness of a tissue proximate the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body; and a controller that associates the measured location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body with the measured thickness of the tissue proximate the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body. The at least one localization element may measure a location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body within a non-ionizing localization field, such as a magnetic or electrical localization field. In some aspects, at least three localization elements may be used, for example in order to provide six-dimensional localization (e.g., position and orientation) of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body.
The at least one pulse-echo transducer may be oriented such that it emits and receives energy in a direction along a longitudinal axis of the elongate catheter body, or, alternatively, such that it emits and receives energy in a direction angled with respect to a longitudinal axis of the elongate catheter body. Of course, multiple pulse-echo transducers may be used, some of which are oriented along the longitudinal axis of the catheter body and some of which are angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the catheter body. It is also contemplated that one or more pulse-echo transducers may be movable (e.g., configured to slide along the elongate catheter body or to rotate within or about the elongate catheter body). Optionally, a standoff may be positioned relative to the at least one pulse-echo transducer such that energy emitted and received by the at least one pulse-echo transducer travels through the at least one standoff. It is also desirable for the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body to be rigid where the at least one pulse-echo transducer is carried.
In another aspect, a system for mapping cardiac tissue thickness includes: a localization system; an elongate catheter body having a distal end portion; at least one localization element carried by the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body to measure a location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body within a portion of a heart using the localization system; and at least one ultrasonic transducer carried by the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body, the at least one ultrasonic transducer operable to measure a thickness of a cardiac tissue proximate the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body. The localization system includes a controller that associates the measured location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body with the measured thickness of the cardiac tissue proximate the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body as a data point. A memory device may be provided to store a plurality of data points.
In some embodiments, the localization system generates an electric field and the at least one localization element measures a characteristic of the electric field to determine the location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body. In other embodiments, the localization system generates a magnetic field and the at least one localization element measures a characteristic of the magnetic field to determine the location of the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body. In still other embodiments, the localization system is an acoustic localization system. In further embodiments, the localization system outputs or provides data for a three-dimensional image of the portion of the heart on a display, and the at least one localization element makes the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body visible within the three-dimensional image. For example, the at least one localization element may be radiopaque. The three-dimensional image may be real-time or pre-recorded. It is also contemplated to generate the three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart from the plurality of data points.
Optionally, the system includes a mapping processor that generates a map of cardiac tissue thickness from a plurality of data points and a display that outputs a graphical representation of the map of cardiac tissue thickness overlaid upon a three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart. The display may also output a graphical representation of electrophysiological data for the portion of the heart overlaid upon the three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart. The thickness map may, for example, be a colorized map. Alternatively or additionally, the map may include alphanumeric and/or synthesized voice reporting of a local thickness on request of the practitioner, for example based on the practitioner identifying a point of interest on the graphical model using a mouse or other suitable input device.
Also disclosed herein is a method of mapping cardiac tissue thickness that includes the steps of: providing a catheter having a distal end portion including at least one localization element and at least one acoustic transducer; introducing the catheter into a portion of a heart (e.g., intravascular introduction); measuring a location of the distal end portion of the catheter utilizing the at least one localization element; measuring a thickness of a cardiac tissue proximate the distal end portion of the catheter utilizing the at least one acoustic transducer; and associating the measured location of the distal end portion of the catheter with the measured thickness of the cardiac tissue as a data point. In some embodiments, the step of measuring a thickness of a cardiac tissue proximate the distal end portion of the catheter includes the following steps: emitting a pulse of acoustic energy from the at least one acoustic transducer towards the cardiac tissue; receiving a first acoustic echo from a first surface of the cardiac tissue at the at least one acoustic transducer; receiving a second acoustic echo from a second surface of the cardiac tissue at the at least one acoustic transducer; and interpreting the first and second acoustic echoes as information about the thickness of the cardiac tissue.
The steps of measuring a location of the distal end portion of the catheter utilizing the at least one localization element; measuring a thickness of a cardiac tissue proximate the distal end portion of the catheter utilizing the at least one acoustic transducer; and associating the measured location of the distal end portion of the catheter with the measured thickness of the cardiac tissue as a data point may be repeated for a plurality of locations within the portion of the heart, thereby generating a plurality of geometry data points. A graphical representation of cardiac tissue thickness may then be overlaid upon a three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart using the plurality of geometry data points.
Alternatively or additionally, the steps of measuring a thickness of a cardiac tissue proximate the distal end portion of the catheter utilizing the at least one acoustic transducer; and associating the measured location of the distal end portion of the catheter with the measured thickness of the cardiac tissue as a data point may be repeated at a single location within the heart chamber a plurality of times to generate a plurality of cardiac cycle data points. A graphical representation of changes in cardiac tissue thickness over time at the measured location of the distal end portion of the catheter may be displayed using the plurality of cardiac cycle data points. It is contemplated that this representation may be overlaid upon a three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart.
Further, in some embodiments, an average (e.g., mean), minimum, or maximum thickness of the cardiac tissue is derived from the plurality of cardiac cycle data points, allowing the average, minimum, or maximum thickness to be associated with the measured location of the at least one localization element as a geometry data point. A plurality of such geometry data points may be generated, and a graphical representation of average, minimum, or maximum cardiac tissue thickness may be overlaid upon a three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart from the plurality of geometry data points.
In still another aspect, a device for measuring a spatial location of a tissue interface includes: an elongate catheter body having a distal end portion; a plurality of localization elements carried by the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body to localize the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body; at least one pulse-echo acoustic element carried by the distal end portion of the elongate catheter body operable to detect a distance to a tissue interface proximate the distal end portion of the catheter body; and a controller that determines a location of the tissue interface from the localization of the distal end portion of the catheter body and the detected distance to the tissue interface.
In a further aspect, the invention includes a method of mapping a tissue surface including the following steps: providing a catheter having a distal end portion including at least one localization element and at least one acoustic transducer; introducing the catheter into a portion of a heart; localizing the distal end portion of the catheter utilizing the at least one localization element; detecting a distance to a tissue interface using the at least one acoustic transducer; and determining a location of the tissue interface from the localization of the distal end portion of the catheter and the detected distance to the tissue interface. By repeating these steps for a plurality of positions and/or orientations of the distal end portion of the catheter (e.g., by moving the distal end portion of the catheter through the portion of the heart or by allowing the distal end portion of the catheter to “float” within the blood pool), a tissue surface map may be generated for the portion of the heart.
An advantage of the present invention is that it facilitates measuring tissue thicknesses with increased accuracy.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it associates measured tissue thicknesses with particular spatial coordinates. The resultant plurality of data points may be used to generate maps and/or graphical representations of tissue thickness.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that acoustic echo measurements are often more accurate than measurements automatically or manually derived from presurgical images (e.g., CATSCAN or MRI images).
The foregoing and other aspects, features, details, utilities, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from reading the following description and claims, and from reviewing the accompanying drawings.
The present invention provides a method and system for locating tissue interfaces and locations where diverse tissue meets other tissue (e.g., tissue having different density or the like) or where body fluids are the dominant adjoining anatomical “structure,” for example in order to map tissue or fluid volumes and/or to measure tissue thicknesses. For purposes of illustration, the invention will be described in detail in the context of measuring and mapping cardiac tissue thickness. It is contemplated, however, that the present invention may be practiced to good advantage in other contexts, such as the detection of potential aneurysms via the detection of thinned cardiac tissue or the detection of relatively thick chamber tissue indicating a potentially deleterious progression of heart failure or other circulatory disease. The present invention may also be practiced to good advantage to gather data relating to variations in tissue thickness over time (e.g., thickness vs. heartbeat phase) that relates to the health of the heart.
It should be understood that (x, y, z) coordinates locate a point in space within a given reference frame, such as with respect to a solid model of cardiac chambers drawn in that XYZ reference frame. Similarly, Θ1, Θ2, Θ3 describe the orientation of an object located at that (x, y, z) point with respect to that XYZ reference frame. Of course, other coordinate systems (e.g., polar, cylindrical, and spherical coordinate systems) may be used as well.
It should also be understood that localization system 8 may directly measure the orientation of an object within the reference frame. Alternatively, as discussed in detail herein, the orientation of the object within the reference frame may be derived from the measured position of a plurality of localization elements. The term “localize” will be used herein to refer to determining both position and orientation of an object within a localization field, regardless of whether orientation is directly measured or derived from position information.
Localization system 8 may be utilized to conduct a cardiac electrophysiology study, for example by navigating a cardiac catheter and measuring electrical activity occurring in a heart 10 of a patient 11 and three-dimensionally mapping the electrical activity and/or information related to or representative of the electrical activity so measured. Localization system 8 can be used, for example, to create an anatomical model of the patient's heart 10 using one or more locating electrodes. Localization system 8 can also be used to measure electrophysiology data at a plurality of points along a cardiac surface, and store the measured data in association with location information for each measurement point at which the electrophysiology data was measured, for example to create a diagnostic data map of the patient's heart 10. Of course, localization system 8 may also be employed in other diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures, such as ablation treatments for atrial fibrillation and other rhythm disorders. It should also be understood that a locating electrode and an electrophysiology sensing electrode may, in some embodiments of the invention, be a shared electrode.
For simplicity of illustration, the patient 11 is depicted schematically as an oval. In the embodiment shown in
In
An additional surface reference electrode (e.g., a so-called “belly patch”) 21 provides a reference and/or ground electrode for the localization system 8. The belly patch electrode 21 may be an alternative to a fixed intra-cardiac electrode 31, described in further detail below. It should also be appreciated that, in addition, the patient 11 may have most or all of the conventional 12 electrodes for taking a surface electrocardiogram (“ECG”) in place. This ECG information is available to the localization system 8, although not illustrated in
A representative catheter 13 having an elongate body (e.g., a body of length sufficient to reach the patient's heart when introduced into the patient's vasculature via the femoral artery or vein) and at least one electrode 17 (e.g., a distal electrode) is also shown. An exemplary catheter might have an outer diameter of less than about 12 French, such as between about 7 French and about 8 French, though one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the catheter can be made larger or smaller without departing from the present teachings. This representative catheter electrode 17 is referred to as the “roving electrode,” “moving electrode,” or “measurement electrode” throughout the specification. Typically, multiple electrodes on catheter 13, or on multiple such catheters, will be used. In one embodiment, for example, localization system 8 may comprise sixty-four electrodes on twelve catheters disposed within the heart and/or vasculature of the patient. Of course, this embodiment is merely exemplary, and any number of electrodes and catheters may be used within the scope of the present invention.
For purposes of this disclosure, an exemplary catheter 13 is shown in
It is contemplated that a “string” of electrodes may be used to measure the curved shape of catheter 13 depicted in
Returning now to
Each surface electrode is coupled to the multiplex switch 24, and the pairs of surface electrodes are selected by software running on a computer 20, which couples the surface electrodes to a signal generator 25. The computer 20, for example, may comprise a conventional general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a distributed computer, or any other type of computer. The computer 20 may comprise one or more processors, such as a single central processing unit, or a plurality of processing units, commonly referred to as a parallel processing environment, which may execute instructions to practice the various aspects of the present invention described herein.
Generally, three nominally orthogonal electric fields are generated by a series of driven and sensed electric dipoles (e.g., surface electrode pairs 12/14, 18/19, and 16/22) in order to realize catheter navigation in a biological conductor. Alternatively, these orthogonal fields can be decomposed and any pairs of surface electrodes can be driven as dipoles to provide effective electrode triangulation. Likewise, the electrodes 12, 14, 18, 19, 16, and 22 (or any number of electrodes) could be positioned in any other effective arrangement for driving a current to or sensing a current from an electrode in the heart. For example, multiple electrodes could be placed on the back, sides, and/or belly of patient 11. Additionally, such non-orthogonal methodologies add to the flexibility of the system. For any desired axis, the potentials measured across the roving electrodes resulting from a predetermined set of drive (source-sink) configurations may be combined algebraically to yield the same effective potential as would be obtained by simply driving a uniform current along the orthogonal axes.
Thus, any two of the surface electrodes 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22 may be selected as a dipole source and sink with respect to a ground reference, such as belly patch 21, while the unexcited electrodes measure voltage with respect to the ground reference. The roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56 placed in the heart 10 are exposed to the field from a current pulse and are measured with respect to ground, such as belly patch 21. In practice the catheters within the heart may contain more or fewer electrodes than the four shown, and each electrode potential may be measured. As previously noted, at least one electrode may be fixed to the interior surface of the heart to form a fixed reference electrode 31, which is also measured with respect to ground, such as belly patch 21, and which may be defined as the origin of the coordinate system relative to which localization system 8 measures positions. Data sets from each of the surface electrodes, the internal electrodes, and the virtual electrodes may all be used to determine the location of the roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56 within heart 10.
The measured voltages may be used to determine the location in three-dimensional space of the electrodes inside the heart, such as roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56, relative to a reference location, such as reference electrode 31. That is, the voltages measured at reference electrode 31 may be used to define the origin of a coordinate system, while the voltages measured at roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56 may be used to express the location of roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56 relative to the origin. Preferably, the coordinate system is a three-dimensional (x, y, z) Cartesian coordinate system, though the use of other coordinate systems, such as polar, spherical, and cylindrical coordinate systems, is within the scope of the invention.
As should be clear from the foregoing discussion, the data used to determine the location of the electrode(s) within the heart is measured while the surface electrode pairs impress an electric field on the heart. The electrode data may also be used to create a respiration compensation value used to improve the “raw location data” for the electrode locations as described in United States patent application publication no. 2004/0254437, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The electrode data may also be used to compensate for changes in the impedance of the body of the patient as described in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/227,580, filed on 15 Sep. 2005, which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In summary, the localization system 8 first selects a set of surface electrodes and then drives them with current pulses. While the current pulses are being delivered, electrical activity, such as the voltages measured at least at one of the remaining non-selected surface electrodes and in vivo electrodes, is measured and stored. Compensation for artifacts, such as respiration and/or impedance shifting, may be performed as indicated above.
In a preferred embodiment, the localization/mapping system is the EnSite NavX™ navigation and visualization system of St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc., which generates the electrical fields described above. Other localization systems, however, may be used in connection with the present invention, including for example, the MediGuide System owned by St. Jude Medical, Atrial Fibrillation Division, Inc., the CARTO navigation and location system of Biosense Webster, Inc., the AURORA system of Northern Digital Inc., or Sterotaxis' NIOBE Magnetic Navigation System, all of which utilize magnetic fields rather than electrical fields. The localization and mapping systems described in the following patents (all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties) can also be used with the present invention: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,990,370; 6,978,168; 6,947,785; 6,939,309; 6,728,562; 6,640,119; 5,983,126; and 5,697,377.
The fields generated by localization system 8, whether electrical fields (e.g., EnSite NavX™), magnetic fields (e.g., MEDIGUIDE, CAR TO, AURORA, NIOBE), or another suitable field, may be referred to generically as “localization fields,” while the elements generating the fields, such as surface electrodes 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 22 may be generically referred to as “localization field generators.” As described above, surface electrodes 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 22 may also function as detectors to measure the characteristics of the localization field (e.g., the voltages measured at roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56, or a current from roving electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56), and thus may also be referred to as “localization elements.” Though the present invention is described primarily in the context of a localization system that generates an electrical field, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand how to apply the principles disclosed herein in other types of localization fields, and in particular other types of non-ionizing localization fields (e.g., by replacing electrodes 17, 52, 54, 56 with coils to detect or transmit differently-oriented components of a magnetic field).
Moreover, the principles disclosed herein can also be applied in connection with other types of localization systems. For example, according to some aspects of the invention, localization system 8 may be an acoustic localization system. One example of an acoustic localization system is the BIRTHTRACK Continuous Labor Monitoring System of Barnev, Inc. Although an acoustic localization system does not generate a “field” in the same sense as the electrical and magnetic localization systems described above, the terms “localization field” and “localization element” will nonetheless be used herein to refer to the analogous aspects of an acoustic localization system. In particular, the term “localization element” includes acoustic emitters and/or receptors that may be carried by catheter 13 in connection with an acoustic localization system.
In still other embodiments of the invention, localization system 8 may employ real-time and/or pre-recorded three-dimensional imaging or imagery. Suitable three-dimensional images include, without limitation, CT images, magnetic resonance images, ultrasound images, x-ray images, fluoroscopic images, and three-dimensional images generated by other suitable imaging modalities or techniques. The three-dimensional images may also be presented as volumetric and/or surface models generated from position data collected using a localization system. For example, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/967,214, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, provides one suitable method and system for modeling a surface, typically in three dimensions, from an unstructured cloud of geometry points such as may be collected using a localization system. As with acoustic localization systems, the terms “localization field” and “localization element” will be used to refer to the analogous aspects of such systems. For example, the term “localization element” will be used to refer to features, such as radiopaque markers, that make the location of catheter 13 visible in a three-dimensional image.
Distal end portion 60 further carries at least one tissue thickness measurement element 62 that allows catheter 13 to be used to detect tissue interfaces and map tissue thickness according to the present teachings. As discussed in detail below, tissue thickness measurement element 62 is able to measure the thickness of tissue proximate distal end portion 60 along at least one direction, such as the axial direction (illustrated in
Typically, electrodes 52, 54, and 56 are employed to measure (x, y, z) coordinates, and thereby to deduce or compute Θ1, Θ2, and Θ3 of distal end portion 60 of catheter 13. This is especially desirable for a directional thickness measurement element 62, which may be capable of measuring a thickness along an axial beamline that is outside or beyond the face of the tip of catheter 13. In these aspects of the invention (e.g., where the distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 is stood off from the tissue surface), the true spatial location of the thickness measurement may differ from the directly-measured (x, y, z) coordinates of electrodes 52, 54, and 56. The measured position and computed orientation of catheter 13 advantageously allows for a computation of the true spatial location of the thickness measurement for purposes of associating a position and a thickness as a data point. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present teachings may be applied whether distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 is touching the tissue to be measured or stood off therefrom within a blood pool.
In some embodiments of the invention, tissue thickness measurement element 62 includes an acoustic transducer 64, typically operable in a pulse-echo mode to measure the thickness of nearby tissue. Suitable acoustic transducers include, without limitation, piezoelectric transducers, magnetostrictive transducers, electrostatic transducers, microelectromechanical (MEMS) transducers, capacitive MEMS ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs), piezoelectric MEMS ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs), or any other transducers capable of emitting and receiving acoustic energy in a pulse-echo mode. The transducers may also be arranged in an array, such as a linear phased array. One or more electrical leads 66 may connect to acoustic transducer 64 to carry power and/or data signals thereto and therefrom.
Many types and arrangements of transducers are suitable for use in connection with the present invention. For example, both directional disc-shaped transducers and omnidirectional tubular and/or cylindrical transducers may be employed. (As used herein, the term “directional” refers to a transducer that transmits and receives an acoustic beam substantially along only a single direction.) Likewise, transducers that articulate or rotate within distal end portion 60 of catheter 13, such that they can observe along multiple directions from within a stationary catheter, are contemplated. The present invention may also utilize transducers having differently-oriented portions that are electrically switchable. Also contemplated are transducers that slide along the catheter to provide a diversity of viewpoints. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from this disclosure how to select and arrange one or more suitable transducers on or within catheter 13.
Typically, transducer 64 will perform pulse-echo pinging at a frequency between about 3 MHz and about 20 MHz, with higher frequencies being employed for thinner tissues requiring more accuracy and less penetration. For cardiac wall thickness, suitable transducers operate between about 4 MHz to about 12 MHz.
Typically, transducer 64 will include a piezocrystal. Acoustic transducer 64 may optionally be utilized in conjunction with one or more acoustic matching layers 68 on the crystal frontside. The ordinary artisan will also recognize the desirability of backing acoustic transducer 64 with an attenuative backing material 70 such that backwards-going acoustic energy is rapidly damped out to prevent acoustic ringing. Acoustic transducer 64 may also be coupled to an electrical matching circuit or electrical matching element (not shown), for example via hot and ground leads 66. The electrical matching circuit or element may conveniently be provided in the control handle or connector (neither shown) of catheter 13.
In some embodiments of the invention, acoustic transducer 64 emits and receives acoustic energy through an acoustic standoff. For example,
The use of catheter 13 will be described in connection with creation of a map of cardiac tissue thickness. It should be understood, however, that the principles disclosed herein may be applied to mapping the thickness of any tissue as well as the thickness of other structures, including the sizes or dimensions of fluid cavities.
Distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 is introduced into a portion of a patient's heart, such as a heart chamber or pulmonary vein ostium, typically by navigating catheter 13 through the patient's vasculature. As shown in
The position (e.g., the (x, y, z) coordinates) of distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 may be measured using localization system 8 (e.g., localization field generators 12/14, 18/19, and 16/22 in conjunction with localization elements 52, 54, and 56). As described above, the orientation of distal end portion 60 may be deduced from the measured locations of multiple electrodes (e.g., electrodes 52, 54, and 56) that are closely spaced on a relatively rigid segment of catheter 13. Alternatively, certain localization systems 8 may directly measure both the position and the orientation of distal end portion 60.
By measuring the delay time t of each interface's reflection and using the acoustic velocity vs of blood and tissue at 37 degrees C. (e.g., about 1520 m/sec), the distance D to each interface/tissue surface can be computed according to the equation D=½vst, wherein the factor of ½ accounts for the round-trip of acoustic waves propagating outwards and then returning inwards. The thickness of a given tissue can then be computed as the difference in distance between its near and far detected interfaces or surfaces.
One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the tissue thickness measured will be a function of the angle at which the acoustic energy is emitted and received relative to the tissue layer's orientation to the acoustic beam. Tissue thickness measurements as described herein, however, whether taken orthogonal to the tissue surface or not, detect the location of the tissue interfaces along that beamline or direction of energy delivery. Of course, even if the tip of catheter 13 is placed orthogonal to the tissue surface, deeper interfaces may not be orthogonally oriented.
Thus, at least two thickness measurements can be reported for a given measurement location. The first is referred to herein as “projected thickness” or simply “thickness,” and refers to the thickness measured along a specific beamline (e.g., the thickness along whatever angle the beamline penetrates the tissue). The second is referred to herein as the “minimum thickness,” which is the thickness measured along the shortest path through the layer at that measurement location, and may be useful in certain surgical applications.
It should be understood that, by “sweeping” the beam angle with respect to the tissue (e.g., by moving distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 within the blood pool or rotating or sliding it along the tissue surface), one can capture a number of projected thicknesses as well as the minimum thickness. If one forms a 3D layered or thickness-depicting spatial model of the heart using the inventive catheter, one can use that established model formed from a large set of projected thicknesses to post-compute or visually observe (e.g., via colorization) any desired minimum thickness.
In another aspect of the present invention, distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 is placed into a blood pool (e.g., within a heart chamber) and simply allowed to move with the motion of the blood pool. As distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 “floats” within the blood pool, its beam angle sweeps relative to the tissue, enabling it to detect cardiac surfaces and measure a plurality of thicknesses along several differently positioned and/or oriented beamlines. By associating these detected surfaces or interfaces and with the positions and orientations at which they were detected and measured, a tissue map or 3D model of a portion of the heart may be generated.
It is therefore desirable to measure both the position and orientation of catheter 13, typically by utilizing multiple localization elements at distal end portion 60. One suitable method for determining the position and orientation of a catheter, sheath, or other probe carrying multiple localization elements is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/347,271, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. By associating detected tissue interface distances relative to acoustic transducer 64 with the corresponding localization information (e.g., position and orientation of distal end portion 60 of catheter 13), the maps and graphical representations of tissue thickness described herein may be spatially constructed.
In some aspects of the invention, a plurality of spatially situated tissue interface data points (referred to herein as “geometry points”) are generated by repeatedly measuring the location/orientation of distal end portion 60 of catheter 13 and the projected distances of proximate cardiac tissue as catheter 13 is moved through or relative to the portion of the heart (e.g., as catheter 13 sweeps through the heart chamber). This plurality of geometry data points may be stored in a memory device and processed by a mapping processor, such as a software program running on computer 20 or a dedicated mapping processor, into a map of cardiac tissue thickness. A graphical representation of the map of cardiac tissue thickness may then be output on a display 23.
In other aspects of the invention, a projected tissue thickness or interface location is measured repeatedly at a single location within the heart at several times during the patient's cardiac cycle so as to capture a plurality of cardiac cycle data points. For example, the measurement could be gated to an ECG such that the measurements are typically taken when the heart has the same shape and the catheter is pointed in the same direction (e.g., at the same point in the cardiac cycle from cycle to cycle). Alternatively, the measurements could be taken at different times during the cardiac cycle. The plurality of cardiac cycle data points may be used to generate a map of how cardiac tissue thickness changes during the cardiac cycle. It is also contemplated that the series of projected tissue thicknesses may be used to derive an average (e.g., mean), minimum, or maximum thickness of the cardiac tissue at a particular location or region on the heart (as measured by localization system 8). One or more of these thickness states, such as the average thickness, can then be associated with the measured spatial-model surface location as a geometry data point. By repeating the process at a plurality of locations within the heart, for example by sweeping catheter 13 around the heart chamber, a plurality of geometry data points can be generated. This plurality of geometry data points can be processed into a spatial tissue model associated with specific thickness states as described above. Graphical representations of any of the foregoing maps may, of course, be presented to a practitioner on display 23.
In some embodiments of the invention, the graphical representation of the map of cardiac tissue thickness, average, maximum, or minimum cardiac tissue thickness vs. time or location, or changes in cardiac tissue thickness may be overlaid upon a three-dimensional (3D) model of the portion of the heart. The 3D model of the portion of the heart may be derived from any suitable imaging modality, including being generated from the measured locations included in the plurality of geometry data points collected during the thickness mapping operation described above. Alternatively, the 3D model may be a preexisting model based upon previously gathered data or imagery (e.g., a CATSCAN or MRI image). It may also be desirable to overlay a graphical representation of electrophysiological data on the three-dimensional model of the portion of the heart and register them temporally and/or geometrically thereto.
Such maps and spatial graphical representations thereof may be employed for desirable purposes in connection with a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and are particularly advantageous in connection with ablation procedures used to treat atrial and ventricular fibrillation and other rhythm disorders. For example, a practitioner may determine or modify an appropriate treatment protocol with reference to the tissue thickness information included in the map.
Alternatively, such a map may be used to execute an appropriate ablation treatment, either manually or automatically, by activating and deactivating ablation elements within the patient's heart. In this respect, it is contemplated that one or more of electrodes 17, 52, 54, and 56 may be used as ablation electrodes. Likewise, acoustic transducer 64 may be operated in an ablation mode to deliver ablating energy, such as high intensity focused ultrasound (“HIFU”) energy, to tissue to be ablated. Alternatively, a separate ablation catheter, equipped with localization elements that permit its location with the patient's body to be measured using localization system 8, may be introduced into the patient's heart to carry out the ablation treatment. For example, it is contemplated that one or more devices according to the present invention may be used to detect and/or map the thinnest portion of a pulmonary vein (“PV”) either epicardially or endocardially. Once the thinnest portion of the PV has been detected, a PV isolation lesion may be created either epicardially (e.g., by lesioning about the PV trunk) or endocardially (e.g., by lesioning about the PV ostia). Advantageously, as discussed above, for epicardial applications, acoustic transducer 64 may be operated in an ablation mode to deliver HIFU energy to ablate the pulmonary veins at their thinnest points. Included in the inventive scope is the operation of acoustic transducer 64 to both measure tissue thickness and ablate while situated at a particular tissue location. Such a dual-acting transducer may be abutted to the tissue surface directly during such thickness measurement and ablation.
Although several embodiments of this invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention. For example, to aid in navigating catheter 13 through the patient's vasculature to the target location, catheter 13 may be made steerable via the inclusion of one or more steering (or “pull”) wires, such as disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/647,313, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Alternatively, catheter 13 may be navigated to its destination over a guidewire or through an introducer.
It is also contemplated that, as an alternative or an addition to the graphical representations of tissue thickness described above, the various data points may be displayed to a user of the inventive system in text form.
All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present invention, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the invention. Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other.
It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
