Catheter Electrode Assemblies and Methods of Construction Thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025359922-A1
Application number	US-202519180388-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 16, 2025
Priority date	Dec 2, 2010
Publication date	Nov 27, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A family of catheter electrode assemblies includes a flexible circuit having a plurality of electrical traces and a substrate; a ring electrode surrounding the flexible circuit and electrically coupled with at least one of the plurality of electrical traces; and an outer covering extending over at least a portion of the electrode. A non-contact electrode mapping catheter includes an outer tubing having a longitudinal axis, a deployment member, and a plurality of splines, at least one of the plurality of splines comprising a flexible circuit including a plurality of electrical traces and a substrate, a ring electrode surrounding the flexible circuit and electrically coupled with at least one of the plurality of electrical traces; and an outer covering extending over at least a portion of the ring electrode. A method of constructing the family of catheter electrode assemblies is also provided.

First claim

1 . A basket catheter comprising:
an elongate catheter shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and defining a longitudinal axis therebetween; an electrode assembly comprising: a structural support member; a plurality of splines extending from the structural support member and forming a basket; a flexible circuit coupled to the plurality of splines, the flexible circuit comprising a plurality of electrical traces and a substrate; and an ablation electrode coupled with at least one of the plurality of electrical traces; wherein the at least one of the plurality of electrical traces is configured to deliver ablative energy to the ablation electrode.

2 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , further comprising a nonconductive liner disposed between the flexible circuit and the support member.

3 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , further comprising at least one positioning electrode, wherein the at least one positioning electrode is configured to provide a signal indicative of both a position and orientation of at least a portion of the catheter by sensing a strength of a magnetic field.

4 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of electrical traces has a thickness, and wherein the thickness is dependent on a function of the electrical trace.

5 . The basket catheter of claim 4 , wherein the thickness of the at least one electrical trace configured to deliver ablative energy is greater than the thickness of an electrical trace configured to deliver a sensory signal.

6 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , wherein the support member comprises a protrusion extending from a common structure.

7 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , further comprising at least one radio-opaque marker disposed within at least a portion of the electrode.

8 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the spline is configured to deflect away from the longitudinal axis of the outer tubing when a deployment member is actuated.

9 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , wherein the basket assembly is configured to expand into a spherical shape.

10 . The basket catheter of claim 1 , wherein the support member comprises a Nitinol material incorporated therein.

11 . A basket catheter comprising:
an elongate catheter shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and defining a longitudinal axis therebetween; a plurality of splines forming a basket assembly, at least one of the plurality of splines comprising: a support member; a flexible circuit coupled to the support member and comprising a plurality of electrical traces; a plurality of mapping electrodes electrically coupled to the flexible circuit; and an outer covering extending over at least a portion of the support member and at least a portion of the flexible circuit, wherein a portion of the outer covering is removed to expose at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of mapping electrodes.

12 . The basket catheter of claim 11 , further comprising a nonconductive liner disposed between the flexible circuit and the support member.

13 . The basket catheter of claim 12 , wherein the nonconductive liner is further disposed between the electrode and the support member.

14 . The basket catheter of claim 12 , wherein the nonconductive liner electrically isolates the support member from the electrode.

15 . The basket catheter of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the electrical traces is configured to deliver ablative energy to the electrode.

16 . The basket catheter of claim 11 , wherein the at least one mapping electrode has an outer diameter of about 3 French gauge or less.

17 . The basket catheter of claim 11 , further comprising a deployment member coupled to the plurality of splines, wherein the deployment member is movable relative to the elongate catheter shaft to expand the plurality of splines to a deployed position or collapse the plurality of splines to an undeployed configuration.

18 . The basket catheter of claim 19 , wherein each electrical trace is coupled to the support member via an electrical pad.

19 . The basket catheter of claim 11 , further comprising a plurality of positioning electrodes, wherein at least one of the plurality of positioning electrodes is configured to provide a signal indicative of both a position and orientation of at least a portion of the catheter by sensing an impedance and wherein at least one of the plurality of positioning electrodes is configured to provide a signal indicative of both a position and orientation of at least a portion of the catheter by sensing a strength of a magnetic field.

20 . The basket catheter of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of electrical traces has a thickness, and wherein the thickness is dependent on a function of the electrical trace.

Assignees

• St Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Div Inc

Inventors

• Just Dale E
• Tegg Troy T
• Johnson Theodore A
• Hall Sacha C

Classifications

• A61B5/053

  Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of a portion of the body · CPC title

• A61B5/02755

  Radioactive tracers · CPC title

• A61B5/064

  using markers (A61B5/062 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61B2018/00636

  Sensing and controlling the application of energy · CPC title

• A61B5/6869

  Heart · CPC title