Contact force and ablation assessment of surgical bipolar radiofrequency clamps in the treatment of atrial fibrillation

• Published in: Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 85 - 93
• Main Authors: Varzaly, Jason A, Chapman, Darius, Lau, Dennis H, Edwards, Suzanne, Louise, Jennie, Edwards, James, Mahajan, Rajiv, Worthington, Michael, Sanders, Prashanthan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.01.2019
• Subjects: Lesion; Contact force; Radiofrequency; Ablation; Surgery; Atrial fibrillation

Abstract OBJECTIVES Atrial fibrillation is treated surgically by creating conduction block lesions. Radiofrequency (RF) lesions have reduced efficacy compared to ‘cut-and-sew’. Catheter ablation studies demonstrate a relationship between lesion depth and contact force. We hypothesized that contact f...