Atrial fibrillation treatment systems and methods

1. A method of treating cardiac complex rhythm disorder in a patient, the method comprising:

positioning a sensor system at a first position within a heart of a patient, wherein the sensor system comprises a sensing region;

receiving a plurality of electrical signals from the sensor system, wherein each electrical signal is detected at a separate sensor location on a cardiac wall of the heart, and wherein each electrical signal comprises an electrogram waveform;

simultaneously receiving an electrical base signal of the heart comprising a base signal frequency and a base signal waveform;

ranking the electrical signals relative to each other based on at least a timing and a frequency of the electrogram waveform of each electrical signal that is distinguishable from the base signal frequency;

determining, based on the ranking of the electrical signals, that a source of aberrant electrical activity is disposed at a location on the cardiac wall that is outside of the sensing region of the sensor system when the sensor system is at the first position, wherein the source generates an electrogram waveform, in at least one of the electrical signals, having a frequency distinguishable from the base signal frequency; and

repositioning the sensor system at a second position within the heart.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ranking of the electrical signals provides a direction for moving the sensor system in the repositioning step.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein an electrical signal having an electrogram waveform with a higher frequency receives a higher ranking than an electrical signal having an electrogram waveform with a lower frequency.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ranking comprises weighting each electrical signal based on characteristics of its electrogram waveform, wherein higher frequency is weighted heavier than lower frequency.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a target site on the cardiac wall that corresponds to the location of the source of aberrant electrical activity, wherein the target site is within the sensing region of the sensor system at the second position.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

treating the target site via ablation.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a representative image of the heart of the patient; and

identifying a target position on the representative image that corresponds to the location of the source of aberrant electrical activity.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises:

determining whether the electrogram waveform of at least two electrical signals show propagation of a wavefront, wherein an electrical signal having the wavefront present at an earlier time receives a higher ranking than an electrical signal having the wavefront present at a later time.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises:

determining that at least some of the electrogram waveforms show propagation of a first wavefront; and

assigning a higher ranking to an electrical signal in which the first wavefront is present at an earlier time, as compared with a ranking of an electrical signal in which the first wavefront is present at a later time.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein some of the electrical signals comprise a second wavefront, wherein the first wavefront reoccurs at a first frequency, wherein the second wavefront reoccurs at a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency, and wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises assigning electrical signals that comprise the first wavefront a higher ranking than electrical signals that comprise the second wavefront.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising receiving a plurality of additional electrical signals from the sensor system after the sensor system has been repositioned to the second position, wherein each additional electrical signal corresponds with a separate location on the cardiac wall of the heart of the patient, wherein each additional electrical signal comprises an electrogram waveform, and wherein at least some of the plurality of additional electrical signals comprise a second wavefront reoccurring at a frequency similar to a reoccurrence of the first wavefront; and

ranking the plurality of additional electrical signals relative to each other by assigning a higher ranking to an additional electrical signal in which the second wavefront is present at an earlier time, as compared with a ranking of an additional electrical signal in which the second wavefront is present at a later time.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising identifying a target site of the cardiac wall based on the ranking of the plurality of additional electrical signals, wherein the target site corresponds with a location on the cardiac wall that corresponds with the additional electrical signal that receives the highest ranking.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising identifying a target site of the cardiac wall, wherein identifying the target site comprises interpolating a location of the target site from locations on the cardiac wall that correspond with at least some of the additional electrical signals that have been ranked.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein electrical signals transmitting from pulmonary veins are isolated from the cardiac wall via tissue ablation prior to receiving the plurality of electrical signals from the sensor system.

15. A method of treating cardiac complex rhythm disorder in a patient, the method comprising:

positioning a plurality of sensors at a first position within a heart of a patient, wherein the plurality of sensors define a sensing region;

receiving a plurality of electrical signals from the plurality of sensors that are interior to a wall of the heart of, wherein each electrical signal corresponds with a separate location on a cardiac wall of the heart, and wherein each electrical signal comprises an electrogram waveform;

simultaneously receiving an electrical base signal of the heart comprising a base signal frequency and a base signal waveform; and

ranking the electrical signals relative to each other to identify a location on the cardiac wall of the heart that is a source of aberrant electrical activity; wherein the source generates a waveform with a frequency distinguishable from the base signal frequency in at least one of the electrical signals;

determining, based on the ranking of the electrical signals, that the location of the source of aberrant electrical activity is outside of the sensing region of the plurality of sensors when the plurality of sensors are at the first position; and

repositioning the plurality of sensors at a second position within the heart.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other is to further identify an additional location on the cardiac wall of the heart that is an additional source of aberrant electrical activity, and wherein the sources of aberrant electrical activity are spaced from each other.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the ranking is based on at least a frequency of the electrogram waveform of each electrical signal, and wherein an electrical signal having an electrogram waveform with a higher frequency receives a higher ranking than an electrical signal having an electrogram waveform with a lower frequency.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the ranking is based on at least a frequency of the electrogram waveform of each electrical signal, wherein the ranking comprises weighting each electrical signal based on characteristics of its electrogram waveform, and wherein higher frequency is weighted heavier than lower frequency.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

identifying a target site on the cardiac wall that corresponds to the location of the source of aberrant electrical activity, wherein the target site is within the sensing region of the plurality of sensors at the second position.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

treating the target site via ablation.

21. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

generating a representative image of the heart of the patient; and

identifying a target position on the representative image that corresponds to the location of the source of aberrant electrical activity.

22. The method of claim 15 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises:

determining whether the electrogram waveform of at least two electrical signals show propagation of a wavefront, wherein an electrical signal having the wavefront present at an earlier time receives a higher ranking than an electrical signal having the wavefront present at a later time.

23. The method of claim 15 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises:

determining that at least some of the electrogram waveforms show propagation of a first wavefront; and

assigning a higher ranking to an electrical signal in which the first wavefront is present at an earlier time, as compared with a ranking of an electrical signal in which the first wavefront is present at a later time.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein some of the electrical signals comprise a second wavefront, wherein the first wavefront reoccurs at a first frequency, wherein the second wavefront reoccurs at a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency, and wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises assigning electrical signals that comprise the first wavefront a higher ranking than electrical signals that comprise the second wavefront.

25. The method of claim 23 , further comprising receiving a plurality of additional electrical signals from the plurality of sensors after the plurality of sensors have been repositioned to the second position, wherein each additional electrical signal corresponds with a separate location on the cardiac wall of the heart of the patient, wherein each additional electrical signal comprises an electrogram waveform, and wherein at least some of the plurality of additional electrical signals comprise a second wavefront reoccurring at a frequency similar to a reoccurrence of the first wavefront; and

ranking the plurality of additional electrical signals relative to each other by assigning a higher ranking to an additional electrical signal in which the second wavefront is present at an earlier time, as compared with a ranking of an additional electrical signal in which the second wavefront is present at a later time.

26. The method of claim 25 , further comprising identifying a target site of the cardiac wall based on the ranking of the plurality of additional electrical signals, wherein the target site corresponds with a location on the cardiac wall that corresponds with the additional electrical signal that receives the highest ranking.

27. The method of claim 25 , further comprising identifying a target site of the cardiac wall, wherein identifying the target site comprises interpolating a location of the target site from locations on the cardiac wall that correspond with at least some of the additional electrical signals that have been ranked.

28. The method of claim 15 , wherein electrical signals transmitting from pulmonary veins are isolated from the cardiac wall via tissue ablation prior to receiving the plurality of electrical signals from the plurality of sensors.

29. A computer-implemented method of treating cardiac complex rhythm disorder in a patient, the method comprising:

positioning a sensor system at a first position within a heart of a patient, wherein the sensor system comprises a sensing region;

receiving, on a computing device, a plurality of electrical signals from the sensor system, wherein each electrical signal corresponds with a separate location on a cardiac wall of the heart, and wherein each electrical signal comprises an electrogram waveform;

simultaneously receiving an electrical base signal of the heart comprising a base signal frequency and a base signal waveform;

ranking, via the computing device, the electrical signals relative to each other based on at least one of a timing and a frequency of the electrogram waveform of each electrical signal that is distinguishable from the base signal;

determining, based on the ranking of the electrical signals, that a source of errant electrical activity is disposed at a location on the cardiac wall that is outside of the sensing region of the sensor system when the sensor system is at the first position, wherein the source generates an electrogram waveform, in at least one of the electrical signals, having a frequency distinguishable from the base signal frequency; and

repositioning the sensor system at a second position within the heart.

30. The method of claim 29 , wherein an electrical signal having an electrogram waveform with a higher frequency receives a higher ranking than an electrical signal having an electrogram waveform with a lower frequency.

31. The method of claim 29 , wherein the ranking comprises weighting each electrical signal based on characteristics of its electrogram waveform, wherein higher frequency is weighted heavier than lower frequency.

32. The method of claim 29 , further comprising:

identifying, via the computing device, a target site on the cardiac wall that corresponds to the location of the source of errant electrical activity, wherein the target site is within the sensing region of the sensor system at the second position.

33. The method of claim 32 , further comprising:

treating the target site via ablation.

34. The method of claim 29 , further comprising:

generating, via the computing device, a representative image of the heart of the patient; and

identifying, via the computing device, a target position on the representative image that corresponds to the location of the source of errant electrical activity.

35. The method of claim 29 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises:

determining whether the electrogram waveform of at least two electrical signals show propagation of a wavefront, wherein an electrical signal having the wavefront present at an earlier time receives a higher ranking than an electrical signal having the wavefront present at a later time.

36. The method of claim 29 , wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises:

determining that at least some of the electrogram waveforms show propagation of a first wavefront; and

assigning a higher ranking to an electrical signal in which the first wavefront is present at an earlier time, as compared with a ranking of an electrical signal in which the first wavefront is present at a later time.

37. The method of claim 36 , wherein some of the electrical signals comprise a second wavefront, wherein the first wavefront reoccurs at a first frequency, wherein the second wavefront reoccurs at a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency, and wherein ranking the electrical signals relative to each other comprises assigning electrical signals that comprise the first wavefront a higher ranking than electrical signals that comprise the second wavefront.

38. The method of claim 36 , further comprising receiving a plurality of additional electrical signals from the sensor system after the sensor system has been repositioned to the second position, wherein each additional electrical signal corresponds with a separate location on the cardiac wall of the heart of the patient, wherein each additional electrical signal comprises an electrogram waveform, and wherein at least some of the plurality of additional electrical signals comprise a second wavefront reoccurring at a frequency similar to a reoccurrence of the first wavefront; and

ranking the plurality of additional electrical signals relative to each other by assigning a higher ranking to an additional electrical signal in which the second wavefront is present at an earlier time, as compared with a ranking of an additional electrical signal in which the second wavefront is present at a later time.

39. The method of claim 38 , further comprising identifying a target site of the cardiac wall based on the ranking of the plurality of additional electrical signals, wherein the target site corresponds with a location on the cardiac wall that corresponds with the additional electrical signal that receives the highest ranking.

40. The method of claim 38 , further comprising identifying a target site of the cardiac wall, wherein identifying the target site comprises interpolating a location of the target site from locations on the cardiac wall that correspond with at least some of the additional electrical signals that have been ranked.

41. The method of claim 29 , wherein electrical signals transmitting from pulmonary veins are isolated from the cardiac wall via tissue ablation prior to receiving the plurality of electrical signals from the sensor system.