POTENTIAL OF INTRACARDIAC ULTRASONOGRAPHY AS AN ADJUNCT FOR MAPPING AND ABLATION

Radio frequency catheter ablation of cardiac tissues has evolved rapid ly as the standard therapy for various arrhythmias. Current mapping te chniques include fluoroscopy and endocardial ECG recordings. These tec hniques are time-consuming and give only limited information with rega rd to cardiac anatomy and pathology. Moreover; fluoroscopy leads to si gnificant radiation exposure to the patient and the operator. Intracar diac ultrasonography is a promising new technique that may improve int racardiac anatomic orientation, reduce radiation exposure, allow bette r control of lesion formation during radio frequency current applicati on, and identify possible complications such as thrombus formation or perforation. Intracardiac ultrasonography systems that are presently a vailable are limited by insufficient penetration depth and image resol ution. Technical refinements are discussed that may improve the applic ability of intracardiac echocardiography for electrophysiologic mappin g procedures.