Flow effect on lesion formation in RF cardiac catheter ablation

This study investigated the flow effect on the lesion formation during radio-frequency cardiac catheter ablation in temperature-controlled mode. The blood flow in heart chambers carries heat away from the endocardium by convection. This cooling effect requires more power from the ablation generator and causes a larger lesion. The authors set up a flow system to simulate the flow inside the heart chamber. They performed in vitro ablation on bovine myocardium with three different flow rates (0 L/min, 1 L/min and 3 L/min) and two target temperatures (60°C and 80°C). During ablation, the authors also recorded the temperatures inside the myocardium with a three-thermocouple temperature probe. The results show that lesion dimensions (maximum depth, maximum width and lesion volume) are larger in high flow rates (p<0.01). Also, the temperature recordings show that the tissue temperature rises faster and reaches a higher temperature under higher flow rate.