Quantification of local convectional cooling during cardiac radiofrequency catheter ablation

Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation is an effective, minimally invasive treatment method in clinical use for treatment of different cardiac arrhythmia. Studies have shown that lesion dimensions strongly depend on blood flow mediated convective cooling at the ablation site. We present a simple method to quantify convective cooling. A brief pulse of RF energy (10 W for 5 s) is applied, and catheter tip temperature is measured during and after energy application. Two parameters are extracted: 1) maximum tip temperature increase, and 2) slope of temperature decay 8 degree C above initial temperature. We tested whether these parameters can quantify convective cooling in ex vivo experiments. A RF catheter was inserted into a tissue phantom placed in a saline bath. Flow at different rates of 0, 1, 2 and 3 L/min was injected towards the catheter, and the parameters were extracted. Both parameters correlated with flow rate. Slope of temperature decay showed linear dependence on flow rate, maximum temperature increase showed exponential dependence. The parameters are potentially useful in quantifying convective cooling before ablation to predict lesion dimensions.