In vivo intracardiac OCT imaging through percutaneous access: towards image guided radio-frequency ablation

Abstract

BACKGROUND Complete catheter-tissue contact and permanent tissue destruction are essential for efficient radio-frequency ablation (RFA) during cardiac arrhythmia treatment. Current methods of monitoring lesion formation are indirect and unreliable. We aim to develop optical coherence tomography (OCT) as an imaging guidance for RFA. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using OCT catheter to image endocardia wall in active beating hearts through percutaneous access. This is a critical step toward image guided RFA in a clinic setting. METHODS A cone-scanning forward-viewing OCT catheter was advanced into active beating hearts through percutaneous access in four swine. The OCT catheter was steered by an introducer to touch the endocardia wall. The images were then acquired at 10 frames per second at an axial resolution and lateral resolution of 15 μm. RESULTS We report the first in vivo intracardiac OCT imaging through percutaneous access with a thin and flexible OCT catheter. We are able to acquire high quality OCT images in active beating hearts, observe the polarization-related artifacts induced by the birefringence of myocardium and readily evaluate catheter-tissue contact. CONCLUSIONS It is feasible to acquire OCT images in beating hearts through percutaneous access. The observations indicate that OCT could be a promising technique for in vivo guidance of RFA.