Apparatus for applying energy within an object

The present invention relates to devices, methods and computer programs for applying energy into an object.

International Patent Application Publication No. US2003 / 0204207 A1 discloses a catheter device with a cardiac pacer that receives energy from a battery or capacitor placed at the distal end of the catheter. The transmission of energy from the battery or capacitor to the cardiac pacer is controlled by an optical control line. Control by this optical control line requires an optical path and a converter that converts an optical signal into an electrical signal. These optics and optical electronic devices require a lot of space, which limits the space inside the catheter and the heart. Therefore, catheter devices are fairly large, difficult to manufacture and difficult to handle.

<p> An object of the present invention is to reduce the size of a device that applies energy into an object.</p>

<p> In the first aspect of the present invention, a device for applying energy into an object is shown, wherein the device is. -An energy radiation element that outputs energy into the object, and an energy application unit that includes an energy storage unit that can be located within the object and is coupled to the energy radiation element. -An electrical control line coupled to the energy application unit that controls the application of energy into the object by controlling the transmission of energy from the energy storage unit to the energy radiating element. Have.</p><p> The present invention is based on the idea that when an electrical control line is used, an optical path and a converter that converts the optical signal into an electrical signal are not required. This reduces the size of the device.</p><p> The device that applies energy into the object is, for example, a catheter device that applies energy into the object by means of an electrode placed at the distal end of the catheter. This object may be a patient object, such as an organ such as the patient's heart. The energy radiating element can, for example, output energy for ablation or sensing purposes within the object. This object can also be a technical object.</p><p> The electrical control line is preferably highly resistant. If the electrical control line is highly resistant, an external electric field is unlikely to induce current into the electrical control line, where the possible adverse effects caused by the induced current are diminished or no longer present. For example, when a magnetic resonance imaging system is used to locate an energy emitting element within an object or to guide the energy emitting element and energy storage unit into the object, the electromagnetic radiation, especially the RF field, is said to be. It induces only a small amount of current in the electrical control line or does not induce any current at all, thus reducing or no more disturbances in the imaging due to the electromagnetic field caused by heating such as local heating of the control line and the induced current.</p><p> The highly resistant control line preferably has a resistance greater than 2 kΩ / m, more preferably greater than 5 kΩ / m, even more preferably greater than 10 kΩ / m, and this resistance is greater than 20 kΩ / m. Is also preferable. In particular, an electric field of 1 to 10 kV / m, more preferably 3 to 8 kV / m, even more preferably 5 to 6 kV / m, even more preferably 5.5 kV / m, particularly preferentially 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. The electric field of the system, the magnetic resonance imaging system, preferentially has a frequency of 50 MHz to 80 MHz, more preferably a frequency of 55 MHz to 70 MHz, more preferably a frequency of 60 MHz to 65 MHz, still more preferably a frequency of 63 MHz to 64 MHz, and even more preferably. These resistors are preferred if they act on the control lines at a frequency of 63.86 MHz.</p><p> In a preferred embodiment, the device further applies the energy via an electrical control line that controls the application of energy into the object by controlling the transmission of energy from the energy storage unit to the energy emitting element. It has a control unit that is combined with the unit. The control unit can be placed anywhere as long as it is still coupled to the energy application unit via the control line. Preferentially, the control unit is placed outside the object, further reducing the space required within the object by the device applying energy into the object. Therefore, preferentially, the energy application unit and the energy storage unit are placed at the distal end of the device, and the control unit is preferentially placed at the proximal end of the device. For example, if the device that applies energy into an object is, for example, a catheter device that applies energy into a patient's organ, the energy application unit and the energy storage unit are preferentially placed at the distal end of the catheter. The control unit is preferentially placed at the proximal end of the catheter.</p><p> The energy application unit further comprises (a) a control line for controlling a switch and (b) the energy radiating element and the energy to switch the transmission of energy from the energy storage unit to the energy radiating element. It is preferable to have the switch to be coupled with the storage unit. This makes it possible to switch the application of said energy using the frequency and amount of energy required for each application with little technical effort.</p><p> It is more preferred that the device have an energy application unit, an energy storage unit and a catheter that guides electrical control lines into the object. This allows the energy application unit, the energy storage unit and at least part of the electrical control line to be inserted into an object, eg, a patient's organ, such as the patient's heart.</p><p> The energy storage unit is preferentially rechargeable. This makes it possible to use an energy storage unit and thus a device that applies energy into an object for extended periods of time without the need to replace the energy storage unit.</p><p> The device preferably further has charging lines, which are connected to an energy storage unit and can be coupled to a charging unit for charging the energy storage unit. This charging unit can be placed anywhere. Preferentially, this charging unit is placed outside the object during use. Thus, the energy storage unit can be charged by the energy application unit, while the energy storage unit and at least part of the electrical control line can be left in the object. In this case, the device preferentially has a catheter for guiding the energy application unit, the energy storage unit, at least a part of an electric control line, and at least a part of a charging line to the object.</p><p> The charging line is preferentially highly resistant in order to reduce or eliminate the effects caused by the current induced in the charging line. The charging line preferentially has the same resistance as the control line.</p><p> The device further preferably has a monitoring unit, which is a magnetic resonance imaging system that monitors at least one of the energy emitting element, the energy storage unit, and the switch. This makes it possible to monitor the position of at least one of the energy radiating elements, energy storage units and switches, in particular the energy radiating elements, energy storage units and switches, where, for example, the positioning is corrected using the monitoring results. To.</p><p> A device that applies energy to an object can also have a monitoring system for monitoring the position of the energy application unit within the object. This monitoring unit is, for example, a magnetic resonance imaging system, a CT system or an ultrasonic imaging system.</p><p> In another aspect of the invention, a method of applying energy into an object is demonstrated, which method is described in the following steps. -Applying energy into the object by locating the energy emitting element and the energy storage unit coupled to the energy emitting element in the object and outputting energy into the object by the energy emitting element. Step Here, the application of energy into the object is controlled by controlling the transmission of energy from the energy storage unit to the energy radiating element with an electrical control line.</p><p> In another aspect of the invention, a computer program for applying energy into an object is shown, wherein the computer program is the following steps when the computer program is executed on the computer controlling the device. -Applying energy into the object by locating the energy emitting element and the energy storage unit coupled to the energy emitting element in the object and outputting energy into the object by the energy emitting element. Steps, as well -A step of electrically controlling the application of energy into the object by controlling the transmission of energy from the energy storage unit to the energy radiating element with an electric control line. Has a program code means for causing the device to execute.</p><p> It is understood that the apparatus of claim 1, the method of claim 9 and the computer program of claim 10 have the same and / or the same preferred embodiments as defined in the dependent claims. It is understood that preferred embodiments of the present invention may be in any combination of the dependent claims.</p><p> These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the examples described below and will be described with reference to these examples.</p>

<figref num="1">An embodiment of a device that applies energy into an object is illustrated.</figref><figref num="2">The distal end of the catheter of a device that applies energy into an object is illustrated in detail.</figref><figref num="3">Other embodiments of the device that apply energy into the object are illustrated.</figref><figref num="4">The distal end of the catheter of the other embodiment of the device that applies energy into the object is illustrated.</figref><figref num="5">A flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method of applying energy into an object is shown.</figref>

FIG. 1 illustrates a device that applies energy into an object, which is the catheter device 1 in this embodiment. The catheter device 1 has a catheter 4 having a distal end 15 and a proximal end 16. The distal end of this catheter is illustrated in detail in FIG. At the distal end 15 of the catheter 4, two energy emitting elements 9 and an energy storage unit 8 for outputting energy into objects 2 and 3 are placed. In this embodiment, the energy emitting element 9 is an energy emitting electrode particularly for sensing or ablation treatment. The energy storage unit 8 is a battery in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the energy emitting element is a pacing electrode. The energy radiating element 9 is coupled to the energy storage unit 8 via a switch 10. This switch 10 is coupled to the control unit 6 via the electric control line 12. In this embodiment, the control unit 6 is placed at the proximal end of the catheter 4 outside the objects 2 and 3. The electrical control line 12 should be reliably long enough to reach the control unit 6 outside the objects 2, 3. The length of this electrical control line is drawn with a broken line in FIG.

Objects 2 and 3 are the heart 3 of patient 2 in this example. Thus, in the situation shown in FIG. 1, the distal end 15 of the catheter 4 containing the energy emitting element 9, the energy storage unit 8 and the switch 10 is inserted into the heart 3 of patient 2. Patient 2 is placed on patient table 5. The device 1 further includes a monitoring unit 7 for monitoring at least one of an energy emitting element 9, an energy storage unit 8 and a switch 10. In this embodiment, the monitoring unit 7 is a magnetic resonance imaging system.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of device 101 for applying energy into an object. Elements similar to the elements shown in FIG. 1 are indicated by similar reference numbers and will not be described in detail below again.

The device 101 includes a control and charging device 14, which includes a control unit 6 and a charging unit 11. The control and charging device 14 is coupled to the catheter 4, in particular, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the control unit 6 is coupled to an electrical control line 12, and the charging unit 11 is coupled to an electrical control line 13. It is combined.

The proximal end 115 of the catheter 4 is illustrated in FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the energy storage unit 8 is coupled to the charging unit 11 via the charging line 13. In this embodiment, the charging unit 11 is placed outside the objects 2 and 3, and therefore the charging line 13 must be sufficiently long. This large length is outlined in FIG. 4 with a dashed line.

The energy radiation element 9, the energy storage unit 8 and the switch 10 form an energy application unit that can be controlled by the control unit via an electrical control line.

In the following, an example of a method of applying energy into an object will be described with respect to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 201, the distal ends 15, 115 of the catheter 4 are placed within objects 2, 3, ie, in the heart 3 of patient 2 in this example. In particular, the energy emitting element 9 is placed at a desired position within the objects 2 and 3 to which the energy should be applied.

In step 202, at the place where the energy radiating element is placed, energy is output by this energy radiating element, where the emission of energy, that is, the application of energy into the object, is carried out from the energy storage unit 8 to the energy radiating element 9. The energy transmission is controlled by the electric control line 12. In this embodiment, the switch 10 is controlled by the control unit 6 via the electrical control line 12 for controlling the transmission of energy from the energy storage unit 8 to the energy radiating element 9.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the energy storage unit 8 can be charged by connecting the energy storage unit 8 to the charging unit 11 via the charging line 13. The charging line 13 is preferentially a high resistance line, so that the energy storage unit 8 is charged even if the position of the energy emitting element 9 is still monitored by the magnetic resonance imaging system 7. be able to. Thus, the energy storage unit 8 can be charged, for example, during an electrophysiological intervention.

Further, the electrical control line is preferentially highly resistant to allow magnetic resonance imaging while the energy emitting element 9 and the energy storage unit 8 are still placed in the objects 2 and 3.

During the electrophysiological intervention, the electrical connection to the energy application unit at the tip of the catheter placed in the object does not resonate at the operating frequency of the magnetic resonance imaging system, and therefore the applied RF. The use of highly resistant wires allows for electrophysiological intervention under magnetic resonance induction without the risk of RF heating, as they cannot function as antennas for the field and they result in overheating. To. The energy emitting element is particularly a cardiac pacing electrode.

Since the energy that must be applied into the object is stored in the energy storage unit adjacent to the energy emitting element, the electrical control lines that preferentially connect to the control unit outside the object, i.e. at the proximal end of the catheter, It is sufficient to control the switch, thus resulting in a highly resistant electrical connection.

The energy storage unit may be a condenser, a battery or a storage battery, preferably a miniaturized Li-ion or Li-polymer battery, which is preferred for catheters. Fits into the distal lumen. Several energizing units, such as capacitors, batteries and / or batteries, can be connected in series to increase the possible voltage or energy applied within the object.

When the electrical control lines are highly resistant, energy can be applied into the object in a controlled manner, whereas the position of the energy radiant element is monitored by a magnetic resonance imaging system, i.e. monitoring. No X-ray system is needed. Here, preferentially, the radiation applied to the patient's object and the dose of the contrast medium are avoided. The use of high resistance electrical control lines and preferentially high resistance charging wires overcomes the inherent safety risks of conventional electrophysiological instruments and devices and thus magnetic resonance induced electrophysiological interventions. Provides a safe transcatheter endocardial pacing solution for magnetic resonance.

If the device applying energy into the object is a catheter device for electrophysiological heart applications, and if the energy emitting element is a pacing electrode, the pacing signal will preferentially have a pulse length of 1 to 10 ms. Yes, with a repeat rate of 0.6 to 6 Hz, preferentially consisting of 1 to 30 mA current pulses. The energy required for approximately 1000 pulses is preferentially about 1 Ws, assuming a preferred voltage of 2.8 V as is commonly used for pacemakers. Priority, the energy storage unit can store about 1 Ws in a small lumen (several cubic millimeters) at the tip of the catheter at the distal end of the catheter.

As already mentioned above, the energy storage unit can be a single or a combination of lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries as well as storage batteries. In particular, batteries and batteries used in handheld devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and video cameras are preferentially small enough for these batteries and batteries to fit into the small lumen at the tip of the catheter. If it is small, it can be used. Lithium-ion batteries commonly used in pacemakers can be used if their size is preferentially small enough to fit into the small lumen at the tip of the catheter. For example, Sience 12 May 2006: Vol. 312. Thin, flexible, nanoscale lithium-ion batteries as disclosed in "Virus-Enabled Synthesis and Assembly of Nanowires for Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes" by Ki Tae Nam et al. In No.5775, pp.885-888. It can be used as an energy storage unit. Preferentially, the energy storage unit has one or a combination of batteries to supply a voltage up to 40V, which is generally for an external pacing power supply.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention applies energy into a patient, particularly intracardiac, even though a device that applies energy into the object is used to apply energy into the patient, especially the patient's heart. It is not limited to the application to. It is also possible that energy is applied within the patient's other organs or within the lumen of a technical object.

Although it is stated that the present invention has a monitoring unit that monitors the position of the energy emitting element in an object, the present invention is not limited to a device that has a monitoring unit and applies energy into the object. Further, if a monitoring unit is present, the monitoring unit does not have to be a magnetic resonance imaging system. In addition, other monitoring units that monitor the position of the energy emitting element within the object, such as an X-ray imaging system such as an X-ray projection system, can also be used.

In FIGS. 2 and 4, even though only a few parts are shown in the catheter, the catheter has more components, especially a guide wire to an electrode at the tip of the catheter, an additional wire or of this catheter. It can also have components commonly used within the catheter as a special lumen for delivering cold fluid to the tip.

Other variations of the disclosed examples can be understood and brought about by those skilled in the art and by practicing the invention as requested from the drawings, specification and claims.

Whereas the present invention has been described and described in detail in the drawings and the above description, such description and description should be considered descriptive or exemplary and not considered restrictive. The present invention is not limited to the disclosed examples.

In the claims, the term "have" does not preclude other elements and steps, nor does it preclude that there is more than one not expressed in plurals.

The fact that certain means are listed in different claims does not indicate that the combination of these methods is not used in an advantageous manner.

Computer programs may be stored / delivered to a suitable medium, such as a solid medium supplied with or as part of an optical storage medium or other hardware, such as the Internet or other wired or wireless. It may be delivered in other formats via the communication system.

It should not be considered that any reference code in the claims limits the scope of the claims.