Ablation is a procedure to treat atrial fibrillation.
It uses small burns or freezes to cause some scarring on the inside of the heart to help break up the electrical signals that cause irregular heartbeats.
This can help the heart maintain a normal heart rhythm.
The heart has 4 chambers..
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) works by passing electrical current in the range of radio waves between a needle electrode positioned in the tumor and grounding pads placed on the patient's skin.
The radiofrequency current produces a high level of heat within the tumor tissue surrounding the electrode..
Catheter insertion points for cardiac ablation
The catheter may be inserted in your groin, your shoulder or your neck.
The health care provider inserts the catheter through a blood vessel into your heart.
More than one catheter is often used..
Cardiac ablation uses heat or cold energy to create tiny scars in the heart to block irregular electrical signals and restore a typical heartbeat.
The procedure is used to correct heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias)..
Radiofrequency catheter ablation uses the principle of resistive heating generated by the RF current flow into tissues..
For ablation, a doctor puts catheters (thin hollow tubes) into a blood vessel in the groin and threads it up to the heart giving access to the inside of the heart.
The doctor then uses the catheters to scar a small area of the heart by making small burns or small freezes..
Ablation is a procedure to treat atrial fibrillation.
It uses small burns or freezes to cause some scarring on the inside of the heart to help break up the electrical signals that cause irregular heartbeats.
This can help the heart maintain a normal heart rhythm.
The heart has 4 chambers..
The animal tissue was purchased from a local butcher, and no procedures were performed on live animals.
The tip of the ablation catheter was held parallel to the myocardial tissue surface and maneuvered by means of the control knob to obtain various CF intensities at different stages of the experiment.
(Arrow) TactiCath ablation catheter (St.
Jude Medical).
Fresh porcine heart muscle slabs (thickness of 2 to 4 cm, taken from the mid-myocardial layer of the left ventricle) were submerged in the saline bath.
The animal tissue was purchased from a local butcher, and no procedures were performed on live animals.
Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a treatment modality that kills unwanted tissue by heat.
Starting with cardiac arrhythmia treatment in the 1980s, RF ablation has found clinical application in a number of diseases, and is now the treatment of choice for certain types of cardiac arrhythmia and certain cancers.
During RF ablation, an electrode is inserted into or steered intravascularly to the target tissue region under medical imaging guidance.
Then, a tissue volume surrounding the electrode is destroyed by heating via RF electric current.
This paper reviews the biophysics of tissue heating during RF ablation.
