Apparatus and methods for mapping and ablation in electrophysiology procedures

1. A system, comprising:

a catheter having a braided conductive member at a distal end thereof, wherein the braided conductive member comprises a plurality of electrically independent filaments; and

a controller adapted to electrically couple two or more of the electrically independent filaments together.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further adapted to electrically couple two or more of the electrically independent filaments to an ablation energy generator.

3. A medical device comprising:

a catheter having a braided conductive member at a distal end thereof;

means for expanding the braided conductive member from an undeployed to a deployed position;

means for applying energy via the braided conductive member to a blood vessel; and

means for controlling said energy supplied via the braided conductive member to the blood vessel;

wherein the braided conductive member includes a plurality of filaments, and wherein groups of selected ones of the plurality of filaments are connected to form electrically independent sectors.

4. A medical device comprising:

a catheter having a braided conductive member connected to a distal end thereof, the braided conductive member including a plurality of filaments; and

means for grouping the plurality of filaments into a plurality of electrically independent sectors.

5. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 further including at least one temperature sensor per independent sector, the at least one temperature sensor being disposed on a corresponding at least one filament in the independent sector.

6. The medical device of claim 5 , wherein the at least one temperature sensor comprises a thermocouple.

7. The medical device of claim 5 , wherein the at least one temperature sensor is electrically insulated from the braided conductive member.

8. The medical device of claim 5 , wherein the at least one temperature sensor is bonded to an outside edge of the braided conductive member.

9. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , further comprising a mechanism that expands the braided conductive member from an undeployed to a deployed position.

10. The medical device of claim 9 , wherein, in the deployed position, at least one of the plurality of filaments of the braided conductive member contacts a blood vessel wall.

11. The medical device of one of claim 9 , further comprising a shroud that covers at least a portion of the braided conductive member when the braided conductive member is in the deployed position.

12. The medical device of claim 11 , wherein the shroud is a latex material.

13. The medical device of claim 11 , wherein the shroud is composed of an radio-frequency transparent material.

14. The medical device of claim 11 , wherein the shroud directs irrigation fluid to a target region.

15. The medical device of claim 14 , wherein the target region is a circumferential edge of the braided conductive member.

16. The medical device of claim 15 , wherein the circumferential edge of the braided conductive member contacts a blood vessel when the braided conductive member is in the deployed position.

17. The medical device of claims 3 or 4 wherein at least one of the plurality of filaments of the braided conductive member is adapted to be used for mapping.

18. The medical device of claims 3 or 4 , wherein at least one of the plurality of filaments of the braided conductive member is used for ablation.

19. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , wherein the braided conductive member is a wire mesh.

20. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , further comprising a mechanism that steers the distal end of the catheter.

21. The medical device of claim 20 , wherein the mechanism that steers the distal end of the catheter includes a pivot point proximal to the braided conductive member.

22. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , further comprising an irrigation system that delivers an irrigation fluid in proximity to the braided conductive member.

23. The medical device of claim 22 , wherein the irrigation system includes at least one tube woven into the braided conductive member.

24. The medical device of claim 23 , wherein the at least one tube includes at least one opening for delivering the irrigation fluid.

25. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , wherein the plurality of filaments are isolated from one another by an insulation coating.

26. The medical device of claim 25 , wherein the insulation coating is a polyimide type material.

27. The medical device of claim 26 , wherein a portion of the insulation coating is removed from at least one of the plurality of filaments.

28. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , wherein comprising a coating material disposed on at least a portion of the braided conductive member.

29. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , wherein the plurality of filaments include metallic and non metallic elements.

30. The medical device of claim 4 , wherein the means for grouping includes a controller coupled to the catheter.

31. The medical device of claim 30 , wherein the controller includes a multiplexer and wherein each of the plurality of filaments is conductively connected to the multiplexer so that each filament may be controlled individually.

32. The medical device of claim 31 , wherein at least some of the plurality of filaments are used for ablation procedures, and wherein the controller is further adapted to control ablation energy supplied to the braided conductive member.

33. The medical device of claim 4 , wherein the means for grouping includes an insulation coating at least partially covering at least some of the plurality of filaments to create the independent sectors.

34. The medical device of claim 4 , further comprising at least one temperature sensor coupled to each of the plurality of independent sectors to provide independent control of energy to each independent sector.

35. The medical device of claim 3 , wherein each of the plurality of filaments is insulated, and wherein a predetermined amount of insulation is removed from preselected ones of the plurality of filaments to provide a controllable profile of the ablation energy delivered to tissue in contact with the braided conductive member.

36. The medical device of claim 3 , wherein each of the plurality of filaments includes an insulation layer, and wherein grouping of the filaments to the electrically independent sectors is achieved by selectively removing portions of the insulation layer of selected ones of the plurality of filaments.

37. The medical device of claim 3 , further including an insulation coating at least partially covering at least some of the plurality of filaments, thereby creating the independent sectors.

38. The medical device of claims 3 or 4 , wherein the braided conductive member comprises a plurality of electrically independent filaments.

39. The medical device of claim 38 , wherein the braided conductive member is deployable, and wherein each filament of the plurality of electrically independent filaments is at least partially insulated so as to be isolated from electrical contact with adjacent filaments during deployment of the braided conductive member.

40. The medical device of claim 3 or 4 , wherein at least one filament of the plurality of filaments comprises a region of insulation coating that extends partially, but not fully, around a circumference of the at least one filament.