Clinical implications
The present study suggests that RF application should be performed in
accordance with the characteristics of each catheter (Figure 3B). The
FlexAblilityTM SE catheter has a thermocouple at the
distal end of the tip, which enables it to monitor tissue temperature
more accurately, therefore safer RF application can be performed.
Although lesion volume from the FlexAbilityTM SE
catheter is similar to that of the TactiCathTM SE
catheter with parallel catheter placement, it becomes smaller when the
catheter is placed perpendicularly. The TactiCathTM SE
catheter has an advantage in creating larger lesions even with a
perpendicular placement, but in order to ensure safety, risk factors for
steam-pops such as impedance decrease and contact force should be
carefully monitored, because of the lower sensitivity in measuring
tissue temperature due to the proximal location of the thermocouple.