Novel tissue-pressure sensing technology using a wide-band dielectric imaging system: An in vivo study

A novel dielectric wide-band imaging system with tissue pressure (TP) technology provides real-time contact force (CF) monitoring using non-CF catheters. This study sought to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of ablation with TP technology.

Eighty-five patients with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) were ablated with real-time monitoring of CF by TP technology and compared with 85 patients who underwent ablation with a conventional non-TP approach. Baseline characteristics, procedural data, and TP data were analyzed in the study. Ablation applications in the TP group were then subdivided into good contact and poor contact groups according to the TP level for analysis.

The TP group had a significantly shorter procedural time (16.2 ± 6.9 min vs. 19.9 ± 10.0 min, p = 0.033), shorter ablation time (334.6 ± 166.9 s vs. 391.3 ± 195.7 s, p = 0.049), and fewer mean numbers of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) deliveries (6.2 ± 3.2 vs. 7.6 ± 5.2, p = 0.047) than the non-TP group. The achieved average percentage of TP >3 g was significantly higher in the good-contact group (97.94% vs. 15.48%, p < 0.001). The median impedance decreases during RFCA in the good contact group and poor contact group were 4.10 (0.30-6.88) Ω and 2.60 (-0.05-4.98) Ω at 10 s, 4.45 (0.58-8.25) Ω and 2.88 (0.23-5.70) Ω at 20 s, and 4.67 (1.95-9.08) Ω and 2.97 (-0.26-6.33) Ω at 30 s, respectively (p < 0.05 for comparisons between categories). All patients achieved acute success, and no complications were observed. Two patients in the TP group and one patient in the non-TP group experienced recurrence during follow-up.

TP-technology guided ablation of SVT is feasible, efficient, and safe.