Patent ID: 8702690

Claim:
An ablation system for ablating tissue in need of treatment, comprising: an ablation catheter having at least one electrode, a power source coupled to at least one electrode, said power source being programmable to deliver at least one programmable level of power; a voltage measurement device for measuring a voltage signal being delivered to the tissue; a current measurement device for measuring a current signal being delivered to the tissue; a phase measurement device to determine an amount of phase change between the measured voltage signal and the measured current signal; a clock to measure a time period during which ablative power is delivered by the power source; a lesion analysis processor for estimating lesion formation as a function of at least: the measured phase change between the voltage signal and the current signal; information indicating the programmable power level at which the power source delivers ablative power to tissue in need of treatment; and the measured time period for which ablative power is delivered by the ablation catheter to tissue in need of treatment; and a controller coupled to the power source and the lesion analysis processor for controlling the power source based on information provided by the lesion analysis processor.