Claims
- 1. A catheter comprising:
an electrically conductive tip electrode; and at least one thermal sensor electrically connected to the tip electrode.
- 2. The catheter of claim 1 wherein the tip electrode comprises a substantially dome-shaped distal-end portion and the at least one thermal sensor is connected near the apex of the dome.
- 3. The catheter of claim 1 wherein the tip electrode comprises a substantially cylindrical shaped proximal-end portion and the at least one thermal sensor is connected near the surface of the proximal-end portion.
- 4. The catheter of claim 3 comprising a plurality of thermal sensors connected at distinct points around a circumference of the proximal-end portion.
- 5. A method of determining the orientation of a tip electrode positioned within a biological site having fluid flowing therethrough, the tip electrode carried by a catheter and having a dome shaped distal-end portion with a thermal sensor electrically connected near the apex of the dome and a cylindrical proximal-end portion with at least one thermal sensor electrically connected near the periphery of the proximal-end portion, said method comprising:
measuring the temperature near the apex of the dome; measuring the temperature near the surface of the periphery of the proximal-end portion; and comparing the apex temperature and the periphery temperature to assess whether the tip electrode is oriented in an end-fire mode, side-fire mode or between the end-fire and side-fire modes.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the tip electrode comprises a plurality of periphery thermal sensors and measuring the temperature near the surface of the periphery of the proximal-end portion comprises:
measuring the temperature at each periphery thermal sensor; and selecting the highest measured temperature as the periphery temperature.
- 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the tip electrode is in the end-fire mode when the apex temperature is greater than the periphery temperature by an determined amount.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the determined amount is approximately 10° C.
- 9. The method of claim 5 wherein the tip electrode is in the side-fire mode when the periphery temperature is greater than the apex temperature by a determined amount.
- 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the determined amount is approximately 10° C.
- 11. The method of claim 5 wherein the tip electrode is between the end-fire and side-fire modes when the periphery temperature is substantially the same as the apex temperature.
- 12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
comparing the greater of the apex temperature and the periphery temperature to a threshold value; and adjusting power to the electrode when the greater temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
- 13. An ablation system comprising:
a catheter carrying a tip electrode having having a dome shaped distal-end portion with a thermal sensor electrically connected near the apex of the dome and a cylindrical proximal-end portion with at least one thermal sensor electrically connected near the periphery of the proximal-end portion; and a controller adapted to:
determine the temperature near the apex of the dome using signals provided by the apex thermal sensor; determine the temperature near the surface of the periphery of the proximal-end portion using signals provided by the at least one periphery thermal sensor; and compare the apex temperature to the periphery temperature to assess whether the tip electrode is oriented in an end-fire mode, side-fire mode or between the end-fire and side-fire modes.
- 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the tip electrode comprises a plurality of periphery thermal sensors and the controller is further adapted to:
determine the temperature at each periphery thermal sensor using signals provided by the periphery thermal sensors; and select the highest measured temperature as the periphery temperature.
- 15. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is further adapted to:
compare the greater of the apex temperature and the periphery temperature to a threshold value; and adjust power to the electrode when the greater temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/515,382 filed Feb. 29, 2000 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/072,801 filed May 5, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,580, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09515382 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
09948334 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09072801 |
May 1998 |
US |
Child |
09515382 |
Feb 2000 |
US |