PATENTS
Apparatus And Method For Shaped Magnetic Field Control For Catheter, Guidance, Control, And Imaging
Patent Number: WO 2006/128160 A2
Date Filed: November 30, 2006
Country Filed In: WIPO
Product Application: CGCI
Description:
A variable magnet system for manipulating a magnetic catheter is described. In one embodiment, a cluster of electromagnets is configured to generate a desired magnetic field. In one embodiment, one or more poles of the cluster are moveable with respect to other poles in the cluster to allow the shaping of the magnetic field. In one embodiment, one or more magnetic poles can be extended or retracted to shape the magnetic field. In one embodiment, the electromagnets can be positioned to generate magnetic fields that exert the desired torque and/or movement force on the catheter. In one embodiment, a magnetic field source is used to create a magnetic field of sufficient strength and orientation to move a magnetically-responsive catheter tip in the desired direction by the desired amount.
Field of Use: The Catheter Guidance Control and Imaging (CGCI) system was created to provide physicians the ability to guide a catheter through a patient's body using a robotically-controlled magnetic guidance system. Such a system provides the physician unprecedented accuracy in being able to navigate within the dynamic environment of the patient, create a detailed 3-D mapping, and perform a variety of catheter-based operations with precision control and an ability to return to target at the push of a button. Initial applications for the technology were for the field of Electrophysiology and specifically for the ablation of the heart to treat patients with AFib.