Application of high intensity focused ultrasound in atrial fibrillation ablation

Application of high intensity focused ultrasound in atrial fibrillation ablation

摘要

High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an accurately focused,noncontact ablation energy source.Application of HIFU in atrial fibrillation (AF) therapy includes surgical epicardial ablation and transcatheter endocardial ablation.The initial experience of HIFU ablation in minimal invasive surgery of AF was encouraging,but further investigation suggested its effectiveness is limited.HIFU balloon for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) once attracted extensive interest in this field.It is a convenient and rapid way for PVI,and both short and long term results were comparable to radiofrequency ablation.However,severe safety concerns such as phrenic nerve palsy and lethal atrial-esophageal halted clinical application of HIFU balloon.Although it is a promising method,long way of technique and device improvement is needed for application of HIFU ablation in AF therapy.

关键词

atrial fibrillation / ablation / high intensity focused ultrasound