Patent ID: 8821488

Claim:
A method for ablating tissue of a heart having an atrium, comprising: clamping the tissue between a pair of opposing jaws; ablating a portion of the tissue at a first generally linear position on the tissue by applying ablative energy to two of a plurality of elongate electrodes, each of the two of the plurality of elongate electrodes being coupled in opposing relationship to each other and the pair of opposing jaws, respectively; then altering a force applied by the opposing jaws onto the tissue; and sensing an effectiveness of ablation on the portion of the tissue at a second generally linear position on the tissue with at least one of the plurality of elongate electrodes positioned on one of the pair of opposing jaws; the second linear position on the tissue being laterally distal to the first linear position on the tissue with respect to the atrium, wherein the clamping step comprises clamping the tissue between the jaws with a first clamping force, and further comprising clamping the tissue between the jaws with a second clamping force after the ablating step and before the sensing step, wherein the first clamping force is greater than the second clamping force.