Electrode catheterization for recording electrical activity of fasciculus atrioventricularis (bundle of His)

A method for locating an electrode catheter for observing electrical activities of the fasciculus atrioventricularis (bundle of His) without fluoroscopic guidance is described. A catheter which contains 4 electrodes and 2 internal capillary tubes was developed; the catheter has 2 distal orifices 18 mm apart. The position of the catheter tip is determined by observing blood pressure recordings from the two internal capillary tubes; when the tip is positioned properly, the proximal orifice will monitor atrial pressure and the distal orifice will detect ventricular pressure. This catheter was utilized on 14 mongrel dogs (19 to 27 kg). Recordings of atrioventricular bundle activities were successfully obtained from 12 of 14 dogs without any fluoroscopic guidances.