A NONFLUOROSCOPIC CATHETER-BASED MAPPING TECHNIQUE TO ABLATE FOCAL VENTRICULAR-TACHYCARDIA

The recent introduction of a nonfluoroscopic electroanatomical cardiac mapping system (CARTO) is an exciting development in catheter ablatio n treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. The system uses ultralow magnetic fields to locate a sensor positioned near the tip of a regular mapping and ablation catheter. The catheter location and electrograms are rec orded and reconstructed in real-time and presented as a three-dimensio nal geometrical mapped color coded with the electrophysiological infor mation. The CARTO represents an important fool to guide the ablation o f patients who have focal tachycardia (e.g., right ventricular outflow tract [RVOT] tachycardia and idiopathic left ventricular [ILV] tachyc ardia). This study describes how the CARTO system is useful in mapping and ablating these arrhythmias. Two case illustrations, one patient w ith RVOT tachycardia and another with ILV tachycardia, are described i n this article. The tachycardia was mapped and ablated using the new e lectromagnetic catheter technology creating an electroanatomical map o f the arrhythmia focus for each tachycardia without fluoroscopy; both tachycardias were successfully ablated, terminated, and rendered nonin ducible. The CARTO system is useful in mapping and guiding the ablatio n of focal tachycardia and merits further study.