Mediguide-enabled renal denervation system for ensuring wall contact and mapping lesion locations

1. An ablation catheter, comprising:

an elongated body having a proximal end and a distal end;

at least one ablation element disposed on the body between the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the ablation element includes a diffuser and an optical fiber having a proximal end and a distal end, the optical fiber being disposed within the elongated body and extending longitudinally therethrough, the proximal end of the optical fiber being optically coupleable to a light source, the diffuser being coupled to the distal end of the optical fiber and configured to focus energy from the light source on target tissue of a blood vessel to ablate the target tissue;

and at least one localization sensor disposed adjacent the at least one ablation element on the body and configured to interact with a magnetic field.

2. The ablation catheter of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ablation element is a radiofrequency ablation electrode.

3. The ablation catheter of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ablation element includes four ablation elements.

4. The ablation catheter of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of localization sensors.

5. The ablation catheter of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of ablation elements and at least one localization sensor for each of the ablation elements.

6. The ablation catheter of claim 5 , wherein each ablation element is a radio frequency ablation electrode, and each localization sensor is disposed under a corresponding one of the ablation electrodes.

7. The ablation catheter of claim 1 , wherein each localization sensor is connected to a processor via a wire.

8. The ablation catheter of claim 1 , wherein the light source is selected from the group consisting of a diode laser and a doped fiber laser pumped with a diode laser.

9. An ablation catheter, comprising:

a longitudinal rod;

a plurality of arms disposed about the longitudinal rod, and being resiliently biased outwardly away from the longitudinal rod;

at least one ablation element disposed on each of the arms, wherein the ablation element includes a diffuser and an optical fiber having a proximal end and a distal end, the optical fiber being disposed within the elongated body and extending longitudinally therethrough, the proximal end of the optical fiber being optically coupleable to a light source, the diffuser being coupled to the distal end of the optical fiber and configured to focus energy from the light source on target tissue of a blood vessel to ablate the target tissue; and

at least one localization sensor disposed adjacent the at least one ablation element.

10. The ablation catheter of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of arms form a collapsible, basket-like arrangement.

11. The ablation catheter of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of arms includes four arms arranged circumferentially apart by 90 degrees.

12. The ablation catheter of claim 9 , wherein the at least one ablation element is a radiofrequency ablation electrode.

13. A method for ablating vascular tissue, comprising:

introducing into an artery an ablation catheter including an elongated body having a proximal end and a distal end, at least one ablation element disposed on the body between the proximal end and the distal end, and at least one localization sensor disposed on the body adjacent the at least one ablation element;

using the at least one localization sensor to determine an appropriate target tissue for ablation;

ablating the target tissue to provide a therapeutic effect;

displaying a location of the ablation catheter within the artery on a visual display; and

registering locations of a first set of lesions using the at least one localization sensor, computing preferred locations of a second set of lesions based on locations of the first set of lesions using a process, and displaying the preferred locations on the visual display.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising injecting a dye into the artery, using a visualization technique to create a three-dimensional model of the artery and using the at least one localization sensor to track the ablation catheter through the three-dimensional model.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the visual display indicates locations of previous ablations.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising ensuring adequate wall contact between the at least one ablation element and a wall of the artery using the at least one localization sensor.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the ensuring step includes visual inspection of the ablation element and the wall of the artery.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the ensuring step includes calculating a distance between the at least one localization sensor and the wall of the artery.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the ensuring step includes performing motion analysis of the at least one localization sensor.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the artery is a renal artery.

21. The method of claim 13 , wherein the ablating step includes ablating tissue in the renal artery to treat hypertension.