Patent ID: 8731662

Claim:
A method for treating and/or preventing atrial fibrillation in a patient, the method comprising: providing an apparatus comprising: an electrical lead having a proximal and distal portion, the distal portion configured to be positioned on an atrial chamber of the heart; the proximal portion having an end configured to be coupled to a pacemaker device; the lead having sufficient flexibility to be advanced into in an atrial chamber of a heart from a percutaneous introductory site; and a plurality of pairs of bipolar electrodes, the electrode of each pair being (i) coupled to a conductive element of the lead, (ii) positioned on a membrane patch configured to be attached to a wall of the heart, and (iii) configured to at least sense an electrical signal of the wall of the heart; placing a plurality of membrane patches on the wall of the heart to position the plurality of pairs of bipolar electrodes in a pattern to define a detection area for detecting aberrant electrical activity in the heart; measuring electrical activity of the heart using the plurality of bipolar electrodes; and detecting a foci of aberrant electrical activity in the heart causing the onset of atrial fibrillation (AF) using the measured electrical activity.