Feasibility study of intravascular pulsed electric field ablation for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias

作者：Zhen Wang, Yunhao Li, Ming Liang, Jingyang Sun, Jie Zhang, Lisheng Xu, Yaling Han · 发表于：Frontiers in Physiology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fphys.2025.1632680 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Cardiac Arrhythmias and Treatments、Atrial Fibrillation Management and Outcomes、Microbial Inactivation Methods

Background: Pulsed electric field ablation (PFA) techniques for treating cardiac arrhythmias have attracted considerable interest. For example, atrial fibrillation can be effectively treated by pulmonary vein isolation using PFA. However, some arrhythmias originate deep within the myocardium, making them difficult to reach with conventional ablation methods. Therefore, this study aimed to explore endovascular catheter-based ablation using computational modeling to assess the electric field and temperature distributions during the procedure. Methods: A three-dimensional computer model of the ablation catheter and heart was developed. The catheter was positioned within the heart model to simulate endovascular ablation, and the ablation damage range was estimated using the 1000 V/cm contour. Additionally, a probe function was used to monitor the maximum electric field and temperature within the ablation zone to evaluate the feasibility and safety of this approach. Results: The electric field can penetrate blood vessels and fat to induce effective myocardial injury. The extent of myocardial damage increases with higher pulse voltages; however, excessive voltage may also damage blood vessels (vascular damage threshold: 3500 V/cm). An appropriate electrode configuration can achieve a more uniform myocardial injury across different cross-sections. Temperature rise near the catheter electrode is significant, but appropriate pulse interval settings can prevent thermal damage in the ta...