Could it be advantageous to tune the temperature controller during radiofrequency ablation? A feasibility study using...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Radiofrequency (RF) cardiac ablation is a key procedure for treating arrhythmias.
• Controller performance in RF ablation is critical for lesion efficacy and safety.
• Optimizing controller parameters (Kp and Ki) may enhance dynamic behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if tuning proportional-integral (PI) controller parameters (Kp and Ki) improves dynamic control during RF cardiac ablation.
• To determine if customized PI controllers can accelerate control action and increase lesion size.

Main Methods:

• Developed theoretical models solved using the finite element method.
• Simulated RF cardiac ablations with temperature controlled at 55°C.
• Implemented PI controllers with parameters adapted to varying tissue properties, electrode-tissue contact, and electrode characteristics.

Main Results:

• Lesion dimensions and maximum temperature (Tmax) showed minimal changes (<1.9°C, <0.2 mm width, <0.3 mm depth) with a tailored PI controller compared to a standard one.
• A direct relationship was observed between controller response time and transient electrode temperature.

Conclusions:

• A PI controller optimized for standard conditions may provide benefits even with variations in tissue, electrode-tissue contact, and electrode characteristics.
• The study suggests robustness of standard PI controller tuning in RF cardiac ablation.