Impact of electrode tip shape on catheter performance in cardiac radiofrequency ablation
Petras, Argyrios (RICAM, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Linz, Austria)
Moreno Weidmann, Zoraida (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Echeverría Ferrero, Marina (Basque Center for Applied Mathematics)
Leoni, Massimiliano (RICAM, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Linz, Austria)
Guerra Ramos, José María (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina)
Gerardo-Giorda, Luca (RICAM, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Linz, Austria)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	The role of catheter tip shape on the safety and efficacy of radiofrequency (RF) ablation has been overlooked, although differences have been observed in clinical and research fields. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of electrode tip shape in RF ablation using a computational model. We simulated 108 RF ablations through a realistic 3-dimensional computational model considering 2 clinically used, open-irrigated catheters (spherical and cylindrical tip), varying contact force (CF), blood flow, and irrigation. Lesions are defined by the 50°C isotherm contour and evaluated by means of width, depth, depth at maximum width, and volume. Ablations are deemed as safe, critical (tissue temperature >90°C), and pop (tissue temperature >100°C). Tissue-electrode contact is less for the spherical tip at low CF but the relationship is inverted at high CF. At low CF, the cylindrical tip generates deeper and wider lesions and a 4-fold larger volume. With increasing CF, the lesions generated by the spherical tip become comparable to those generated by the cylindrical tip. The 2 tips feature different safety profiles: CF and power are the main determinants of pops for the spherical tip; power is the main factor for the cylindrical tip; and CF has a marginal effect. The cylindrical tip is more prone to pop generation at higher powers. Saline irrigation and blood flow effect do not depend on tip shape. Tip shape determines the performance of ablation catheters and has a major impact on their safety profile. The cylindrical tip shows more predictable behavior in a wide range of CF values.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación SEV-2017-0718
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Cardiac ablation ; Computational modeling and simulation ; Electrode tip ; Lesion science ; Open irrigation ; Radiofrequency ; Steam pop
Published in:	Heart Rhythm O2, Vol. 3 (august 2022) , p. 699-705, ISSN 2666-5018

DOI: 10.1016/j.hroo.2022.07.014
PMID: 36589920

7 p, 1.0 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles