Patent ID: 8801693

Claim:
A method for guiding a catheter within a vasculature of a patient, the method comprising: introducing the catheter into a vessel of the patient, the catheter defining a lumen through which fluids can be infused into the vasculature of the patient; advancing the catheter toward a target destination within the vasculature; calculating at least a first impedance value based on intravascular detection of at least one electrical property related to a first tissue surface of the vessel, the at least one electrical property detected across at least one electrode pair associated with the catheter disposed proximate to the first tissue surface; advancing the catheter so that the electrode pair is proximate a second tissue surface in the vessel; calculating a second impedance value based on intravascular detection across the at least one electrode pair of at least one electrical property related to a second tissue surface of the vessel; and determining the proximity of the distal end of the catheter to the target destination from a relative variance between the first impedance value and the second impedance value.