Patent Publication Number: US-2021177356-A1

Title: Multi-Dimensional Acquisition of Bipolar Signals from a Catheter

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to invasive diagnostic methods and apparatus, and particularly to catheter-based measurement of electrophysiological signals. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In electro-anatomical mapping of the heart, a catheter is inserted into a heart chamber, and electrodes on the catheter contact the myocardium within the chamber in order to acquire electrical signals at a large number of locations. A variety of specialized catheters, with arrays of electrodes extending over a distal portion of the catheter, have been developed in order to facilitate this process. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,255, whose disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as though set forth in full, describes an improved basket catheter that is particularly useful for mapping the heart. The catheter comprises an elongated catheter body having proximal and distal ends and at least one lumen therethrough. A basket-shaped electrode assembly is mounted at the distal end of the catheter body. The basket assembly has proximal and distal ends and comprises a plurality of spines connected at their proximal and distal ends. Each spine comprises at least one electrode. The basket assembly has an expanded arrangement wherein the spines bow radially outwardly and a collapsed arrangement wherein the spines are arranged generally along the axis of the catheter body. 
     The catheter further comprises a distal location sensor mounted at or near the distal end of the basket-shaped electrode assembly and a proximal location sensor mounted at or near the proximal end of the basket-shaped electrode assembly. In use, the coordinates of the distal location sensor relative to those of the proximal sensor can be determined and taken together with known information pertaining to the curvature of the spines of the basket-shaped mapping assembly to find the positions of the at least one electrode of each spine. 
     Catheters with multiple electrodes can be applied in making various sorts of diagnostic measurements. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0216346 describes a system including a catheter including multiple, spatially-distributed electrodes configured to measure electrical signals of a heart. The system is configured to determine a position of the electrodes at multiple, different catheter positions in the heart, and includes a processing unit, which maps electrical activity in the heart. The processing unit is configured to receive the measured electrical signals from each position of the multiple, different catheter positions and determine whether the measured electrical signals at the position are organized. If the measured electrical signals at the position are organized, the processing unit is configured to determine at least one of velocity vectors, cycle length, and degree of organization at the position from the measured electrical signals. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention that are described hereinbelow provide improved methods and systems for electrophysiological measurement and mapping. 
     There is therefore provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, medical apparatus, including a probe, which includes an insertion tube configured for insertion into a body cavity of a patient, and a basket assembly connected distally to the insertion tube. The basket assembly includes a plurality of resilient spines having respective proximal and distal tips and including multiple electrodes arrayed along a length of each of the spines between the respective proximal and distal tips. The proximal tips of the spines are joined at a proximal end of the basket assembly, and the distal tips of the spines are joined at a distal end of the basket assembly, and the spines bow radially outward when the basket assembly is deployed in the body cavity, whereby the electrodes contact tissue in the body cavity. Processing circuitry is configured to acquire a first bipolar electrical signal from the tissue between first and second electrodes at first and second locations along a first spine of the basket assembly, and to acquire a second bipolar electrical signal from the tissue between the first electrode and a third electrode in a third location on a second spine of the basket assembly, and to interpolate, based on the first and second bipolar electrical signals, a vectorial electrical property of the tissue along an axis that passes through the first location and between the second and third locations. 
     In some embodiments, the second electrode is adjacent to the first electrode on the first spine, and the second spine is adjacent to the first spine. In one embodiment, among the electrodes on the second spine, the third electrode is closest to the first electrode. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitry is configured to derive a longitudinal component of the vectorial electrical property from the first bipolar electrical signal, and a transverse component of the vectorial electrical property from the second bipolar signal. In a disclosed embodiment, the processing circuitry is configured to find an amplitude and a direction of the vectorial electrical property by computing a vector sum of the longitudinal and transverse components. 
     In one embodiment, the first and second bipolar signals arise due to an electrical activation wave passing through the tissue, and the vectorial electrical property includes a velocity of the electrical activation wave. Alternatively or additionally, the vectorial electrical property includes a simulated bipolar electrical signal between the first location and a fourth location on the axis that passes through the first location and between the second and third locations. 
     In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is configured to map the vectorial electrical property over an area of the tissue that is contacted by the electrodes on the basket assembly. Typically, the apparatus includes one or more position sensors connected to the probe and configured to output position signals that are indicative of a position of the basket assembly, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to process the position signals in order to find location coordinates of the first, second and third locations, and to apply the location coordinates in mapping the vectorial electrical property. 
     In a disclosed embodiment, the insertion tube includes a flexible catheter configured for insertion into a chamber of a heart of the patient, and the electrodes are configured to sense electrical potentials in myocardial tissue within the chamber. 
     There is also provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method for medical diagnosis, which includes providing a probe that is configured for insertion into a body cavity of a patient and includes a basket assembly including a plurality of resilient spines having respective proximal and distal tips and including multiple electrodes arrayed along a length of each of the spines between the respective proximal and distal tips. The proximal tips of the spines are joined at a proximal end of the basket assembly, and the distal tips of the spines are joined at a distal end of the basket assembly, and the spines bow radially outward when the basket assembly is deployed in the body cavity, whereby the electrodes contact tissue in the body cavity. A first bipolar electrical signal in the tissue is acquired between first and second electrodes at first and second locations along a first spine of the basket assembly. A second bipolar electrical signal in the tissue is acquired between the first electrode and a third electrode in a third location on a second spine of the basket assembly. Based on the first and second bipolar signals, a vectorial electrical property of the tissue is interpolated along an axis that passes through the first location and between the second and third locations. 
     The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic, pictorial illustration of a system for electro-anatomical mapping, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic side view of a basket catheter, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for acquiring and processing electrophysiological signals, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Basket catheters are useful in rapidly collecting large amounts of electrical data from tissue within body cavities, and specifically from myocardial tissue in the chambers of the heart. Among the measurements that are commonly made using such catheters are bipolar measurements of electrical potentials in the tissue, which are acquired between adjacent electrodes on a given spine. These bipolar measurements give an indication, inter alia, of the propagation of electrical activation waves through the tissue. Only the component of the propagation along the direction parallel to the spine can be measured in this manner, however, and components perpendicular to the spine may be missed. 
     Embodiments of the present invention that are described herein offer a solution to this problem, which enables a basket catheter to be used in measuring vectorial electrical properties of the tissue, along axes that are angled relative to the spines, i.e., at perpendicular and oblique angles relative to the longitudinal axes of the spines. These properties may include, for example, the directional velocity of the local activation wave in the tissue, as well as simulated bipolar signals between an electrode on one of the spines and a location where there is no physical electrode. 
     In the disclosed embodiments, processing circuitry associated with the basket catheter implements these capabilities by acquiring bipolar signals both from pairs of electrodes on the same spine and from pairs of electrodes on different spines (typically, neighboring spines, although not necessarily). Different pairs of electrodes may be chosen in order to optimize the bipolar signals that are acquired, in terms of amplitude and direction. By combining bipolar signals between an electrode and its neighbor along the spine, and between the electrode and a neighbor on an adjacent spine, the processing circuitry is able to emulate the operation of an omnidirectional bipolar probe, notwithstanding the constraints imposed by the structure of the basket assembly. 
     In the embodiments that are described herein, medical apparatus comprises a probe, which comprises an insertion tube configured for insertion into a body cavity of a patient. A basket assembly, connected distally to the insertion tube, comprises multiple resilient spines, with multiple electrodes arrayed along the length of each of the spines. The proximal tips of the spines are joined at the proximal end of the basket assembly, and the distal tips of the spines are joined at the distal end of the basket assembly, so that the spines bow radially outward when the basket assembly is deployed in the body cavity. The electrodes thus contact tissue in the body cavity. 
     Processing circuitry, such as a programmable processor in the apparatus, acquires a first bipolar electrical signal from the tissue between first and second electrodes along a first spine of the basket assembly, and acquires a second bipolar electrical signal from the tissue between the first electrode on the first spine and a third electrode on a second spine of the basket assembly. The processing circuitry can then interpolate a vectorial electrical property of the tissue based on the first and second bipolar signals. In some cases, the vectorial electrical property will be directed longitudinally along the spine or along the transverse direction between the first and third electrodes. More generally, however, the vectorial electrical property will have both longitudinal and transverse components, and will thus be directed along an axis that passes through the location of the first electrode and between the locations of the second and third electrodes. 
     The embodiments that are described hereinbelow relate specifically to a basket catheter that is used in sensing electrical potentials in myocardial tissue in a chamber of the heart. The principles of the present invention, however, may similarly be applied in making other sorts of electrophysiological measurements in other body cavities. 
     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which schematically illustrate an electro-anatomical mapping system  20  using a basket catheter  22 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of the system as a whole, while  FIG. 2  shows details of a basket assembly  40  at the distal end of catheter  22 . Elements of system  20  may be based on components of the CARTO® system, produced by Biosense Webster, Inc. (Irvine, Calif.). 
     A physician  30  navigates catheter  22  so as to deploy basket assembly  40  in a target location in a chamber of a heart  26  of a patient  28 . Basket assembly  40  is connected distally to an insertion tube  25 , which physician  30  steers using a manipulator  32  near the proximal end of catheter  22 . Basket assembly  40  is inserted in a collapsed configuration through a sheath  23 , via the vascular system of patient  28 , into the heart chamber that is to be mapped, and is then deployed from the sheath and allowed to expand within the chamber. By containing basket assembly  40  in this collapsed configuration, sheath  23  also serves to minimize vascular trauma along the way to the target location. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , basket assembly  40  comprises a plurality of resilient spines  55 , with multiple electrodes  48  arrayed along the length of each of the spines. Spines  55  typically comprise a suitable, resilient metal or plastic material, for example. The proximal tips of spines  55  are joined at the proximal end of the basket assembly, where the basket assembly connects to the distal end of insertion tube  25 . The distal tips of spines  55  are likewise joined together at the distal end of the basket assembly. The spines bow radially outward when basket assembly  40  is deployed from sheath  23  into the heart chamber. Physician  30  then manipulates catheter  22  so that electrodes  48  contact the myocardial tissue in the heart chamber. Basket assembly  40  may comprise other components, as well (not shown in the figures), such as ultrasound transducers, contact force sensors, and temperature sensors. Electrodes  48 , as well as these other components, are connected to wires (not shown) running through insertion tube  25  to the proximal end of catheter  22 , where they connect to processing circuitry in a console  24 . 
     Catheter  22  comprises one or more position sensors, which output position signals that are indicative of the position (location and orientation) of basket assembly  40 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , basket assembly  40  incorporates a magnetic sensor  50  at the distal end of insertion tube  25 , or equivalently, at the proximal end of the basket assembly. A second magnetic sensor  52  is fixed to the distal end of the basket assembly. Alternatively, basket assembly  40  may comprise only a single magnetic sensor or may comprises two or more magnetic sensors at different locations on the basket assembly. Magnetic sensors  50  and  52  typically comprise miniature coils or Hall effect devices, for example, which output electrical signals in response to an applied magnetic field. Like electrodes  48 , magnetic sensors  50  and  52  are connected to console  24  via wires running through insertion tube  25 . 
     Patient  28  is placed in a magnetic field generated by magnetic field generator coils  42 , which are driven by a drive circuit  43  in console  24  to produce multiple magnetic field components directed along different, respective axes. During navigation of basket assembly  40  in heart  26 , magnetic sensors  50 ,  52  output signals in response to these magnetic field components. Position sensing circuitry, such as a processor  41  in console  24 , receives these signals via interface circuits  44 , and processes the signals in order to find the location and orientation coordinates of basket assembly  40 , and thus of each of electrodes  48 . Interface circuits  44  comprise suitable analog amplifiers and filters, as well as analog/digital converters, for processing the signals output by both sensors  50 ,  52  and electrodes  48  and input corresponding digital values to processor  41 . 
     The methods and apparatus for magnetic position sensing that are implemented in system  20  are based on those that are used in the above-mentioned CARTO® system. The principles of operation of this sort of magnetic sensing are described in detail, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,391,199, 6,690,963, 6,484,118, 6,239,724, 6,618,612 and 6,332,089, in PCT Patent Publication WO 96/05768, and in U.S. Patent Application Publications 2002/0065455 A1, 2003/0120150 A1 and 2004/0068178 A1, whose disclosures are all hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties as though set forth in full with a copy in the attached Appendix. Alternatively, system  20  may implement other magnetic position sensing technologies that are known in the art. 
     Further alternatively or additionally, system  20  may apply other position-sensing technologies in order to find the coordinates of electrodes  48  on basket assembly  40 . For example, processor  41  may sense the impedances between electrodes  48  and body-surface electrodes  49 , which are applied to the chest of patient  28 , and may convert the impedances into location coordinates using techniques that are known in the art. By using the aforementioned measured impedances from electrodes  48 , location of the electrodes  48  can be determined by, for example, the CARTO™ system, produced by Biosense-Webster (Irvine, Calif.) and is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,756,576, 7,869,865, 7,848,787, and 8,456,182, whose disclosures are all incorporated herein by reference with a copy provided in the Appendix. This method is sometimes called Advanced Catheter Location (ACL). In this case, electrodes  48  themselves serve as position sensors for ACL. 
     Processor  41  uses the spatial and electrophysiological signals that it receives via interface circuits  44  in constructing an electro-anatomical map  31  of the heart chamber in which basket assembly  40  is deployed. During and/or following the procedure, processor  41  may render electro-anatomical map  31  to a display  27 . In the embodiment that is shown in  FIG. 1 , processor  41  superimposes one or more icons  33 , which indicate a vectorial electrical property of the myocardial tissue that the processor derives from bipolar electrical signals that it receives from basket assembly  40 . Techniques that may be applied by the processor in deriving such vectorial properties are described further hereinbelow. 
     In some embodiments, processor  41  comprises a general-purpose computer, with suitable interface circuits  44  for receiving signals from catheter  21  (including low-noise amplifiers and analog/digital converters), as well as for receiving signals from and controlling the operation of the other components of system  20 . Processor  41  typically performs these functions under the control of software stored in a memory  48  of system  20 . The software may be downloaded to the computer in electronic form, over a network, for example, or it may, alternatively or additionally, be provided and/or stored on non-transitory tangible media, such as magnetic, optical, or electronic memory. In particular, processor  41  runs a dedicated algorithm that enables the processor to perform the methods of signal acquisition and processing that are described below. Additionally or alternatively, at least some of the functions of processor  41  may be carried out by dedicated or programmable hardware logic. 
     The system configuration that is shown in  FIG. 1  is chosen by way of example for the sake of conceptual clarity. For the sake of simplicity,  FIG. 1  shows only the elements of system  20  that are specifically related to the disclosed techniques. The remaining elements of the system will be apparent to those skilled in the art, who will likewise understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in other medical diagnostic systems, using other components. All such alternative implementations are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for acquiring and processing electrophysiological signals, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The method is described, for the sake of clarity and concreteness, with reference to the elements of system  20 , and particularly basket assembly  40 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . This method represents the algorithm applied by processor  41  ( FIG. 1 ) in deriving vectorial electrical properties of the myocardial tissue contacted by the basket assembly. As noted above, however, other implementations of the principles of this method are also considered to be within the scope of the present invention. 
     Processor  41  acquires a first bipolar electrical signal from the myocardial tissue between neighboring electrodes  48   a  and  48   b  on a first spine  55   a,  at a first bipolar acquisition step  60 . Alternatively, electrodes  48   a  and  48   b  may be spread apart at a greater distance along spine  55   a.  The locations of electrodes  48   a  and  48   b,  in contact with the myocardial tissue, define a longitudinal axis  56 , running for a portion of the axis  56  along spine  55   a.    
     Processor  41  also acquires a second bipolar electrical signal between electrode  48   a  and an electrode  48   c,  which is located on an adjacent spine  55   b,  at a second bipolar acquisition step  62 . Alternatively, spine  55   b  may be non-adjacent to spine  55   a,  as long as both spines are in contact with the myocardial tissue. Electrode  48   c  may conveniently be chosen as the closest electrode on spine  55   b  to electrode  48   a.  The locations of electrodes  48   a  and  48   c  define a transverse axis  58 , which is perpendicular to or obliquely oriented relative to longitudinal axis  56 . Alternatively or additionally, processor  41  may acquire the bipolar electrical signals between electrode  48   a  and other electrodes on spine  55   b  or on other spines. 
     Based on the bipolar electrical signals acquired at steps  60  and  62 , processor  41  computes vector components of electrical potentials propagating in the myocardial tissue, at a component computation step  64 . In the present example, the processor computes components of an activation wave, including a longitudinal (A-B) component along axis  56  and a transverse (A-C) component along axis  58 . These directional components are derived from the bipolar signals acquired respectively at steps  60  and  62 . Processor  41  interpolates between these components in order to find the magnitude and direction of the activation vector, at a vector computation step  66 . The result is a vector sum, with a direction passing between the locations of electrodes  48   b  and  48   c,  for example along an oblique axis  59  passing through the location of electrode  48   a,  as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     This vector sum represents the local, directional velocity of the electrical activation wave in the myocardial tissue at the location of electrode  48   a.  Processor  41  typically makes similar measurements, using bipolar electrode pairs along and between spines  55 , at other electrode locations on basket assembly  40 . The processor is thus able to generate map  31  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) including icons  33  representing the activation velocity—as well as other vectorial electrical properties—over the inner surface of the heart chamber in which basket assembly  40  is deployed. 
     Alternatively or additionally, processor  41  may generate and display the vectorial electrical property in terms of simulated bipolar electrical signals, based on the bipolar signals acquired respectively at steps  60  and  62 . For example, processor  41  may generate such a simulated signal between electrode  48   a  and a “virtual electrode” at a location on axis  59 . The magnitudes of these simulated signal bipolar signals may be computed with or without computation of a corresponding direction. In one embodiment, the magnitude of the simulated bipolar signal at any given point is approximated simply as the sum of the amplitudes of the bipolar signals acquired respectively at steps  60  and  62 . As used herein, the term “vectorical electrical property” includes any electrical signal generated by organ tissues (e.g., cardiac) in which physical characteristics (e.g., volts or amperes) as well as directional characteristics can be derived from such signals obtained from specified electrodes  48 . Such property may include, as discussed earlier, directional velocity of the local activation wave in the tissue as measured by the electrodes  48 , as well as simulated bipolar signals between an electrode on one of the spines and a location where there is no physical electrode. 
     It will be appreciated that the embodiments described above are cited by way of example, and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove, as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art.