PHOTOACOUSTIC SYSTEM FOR ACCURATE LOCALIZATION OF LASER ABLATION CATHETER TIP POSITION AND TEMPERATURE MONITORING DURING ABLATION PROCEDURES

摘要

A system for monitoring an ablation procedure in a target tissue includes a first light source for delivering light to the target tissue to generate photoacoustic signals and a second light source for delivering light to the target tissue for ablation therapy. The system further includes a beam mixer for receiving light from the first and second light sources to create a combined light beam. An ablation catheter including a single optical fiber receives the combined light beam from the beam mixer, wherein the combined light beam is emitted from a tip of the ablation catheter to perform simultaneous ablation therapy and photoacoustic monitoring of the ablation procedure in the target tissue in real time.