Intracardiac Echocardiography during Catheter-Based Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Accurate delineation of the variable left atrial anatomy is of utmost importance during anatomically based ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation targeting the pulmonary veins and possibly other structures of the atria. Intracardiac echocardiography allows real-time visualisation of the left atrium and adjacent structures and thus facilitates precise guidance of catheter-based ablation of atrial fibrillation. In patients with abnormal anatomy of the atria and/or the interatrial septum, intracardiac ultrasound might be especially valuable to guide transseptal access. Software algorithms like CARTOSound (Biosense Webster, Diamond Bar, USA) offer the opportunity to reconstruct multiple two-dimensional ultrasound fans generated by intracardiac echocardiography to a three-dimensional object which can be merged to a computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging reconstruction of the left atrium. Intracardiac ultrasound reduces dwell time of catheters in the left atrium, fluoroscopy, and procedural time and is invaluable concerning early identification of potential adverse events. The application of intracardiac echocardiography has the great capability to improve success rates of catheter-based ablation procedures.