Pulmonary vein isolation using a High Density Mesh Ablator catheter: Incorporation of three-dimensional navigation and mapping

Background: We evaluated the use of a novel High Density Mesh Ablator (HDMA) catheter in combination with three-dimensional navigation for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Methods: The HDMA catheter was used to carry out pulmonary vein isolation in a consecutive series of patients. Three-dimensional geometry of the left atrial-pulmonary vein (LA-PV) junctions were first created with the HDMA catheter. Ostial, proximal and distal sites within the pulmonary veins were tagged with catheter shadows on the created geometry to allow for re-interrogation of these exact sites after ablation. Results: The HDMA catheter was successfully used to create three dimensional geometry of the LA-PV junction in a total of 20 pulmonary veins which involved 5 patients. In all cases, ostial ablation alone was sufficient to achieve electrical isolation. No significant pulmonary vein stenosis was seen acutely after ablation. Conclusion: We describe the successful use of the novel HDMA catheter to create three-dimensional geometry of the LA-PV junction to assist with pulmonary vein isolation.