Systems and methods for visualizing ablated tissue

1. A system for imaging tissue comprising:

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

an ablation device along a portion of the elongated body for ablating a tissue;

a light source providing light for illuminating the tissue having at least one wavelength sufficient to excite mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen (NADH) in the tissue;

a sensor for detecting NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue, the sensor being configured to receive light having at least one wavelength to detect the NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue;

one or more optical fibers to deliver the light from the light source to the tissue and to deliver the NADH fluorescence to the sensor; and

a processor programmed to perform the steps of:

obtaining the detected NADH fluorescence from the sensor in real time during ablation of the tissue using the ablation device,

generating a digital representation of the detected NADH fluorescence for monitoring a progression of the ablation of the tissue, and

while the tissue is being ablated, determining a decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence and updating the digital representation in real time to show the measured decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence that is indicative of the progression of the ablation of the tissue to enable a user to determine the need for further ablation.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the light for illuminating the tissue has at least one wavelength between about 300 nm and about 400 nm.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the sensor is configured to receive light having at least one wavelength between about 435 nm and about 485 nm.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the ablation device has an energy source selected from the group consisting of radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, electrical energy, electromagnetic energy, cryoenergy, laser energy, ultrasound energy, acoustic energy, chemical energy, and thermal energy.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an irrigation port configured to deliver a fluid to the distal end of the elongated body.

6. A system for imaging tissue comprising:

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

an ablation device along a portion of the elongated body for ablating a tissue;

a light source providing light for illuminating the tissue to excite mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen (NADH) in the tissue, wherein the light from the light source has at least one wavelength between about 300 nm and about 400 nm sufficient for NADH excitation;

a sensor being configured to receive light to detect NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue, wherein the light detected by the sensor has at least one wavelength between about 435 nm and about 485 nm; and

a processor programmed to perform the steps of:

obtaining the detected NADH fluorescence from the sensor in real time during ablation of the tissue using the ablation device,

generating a digital representation of the detected NADH fluorescence for monitoring a progression of the ablation of the tissue, wherein a decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue is indicative of the progression of the ablation of the tissue to enable a user to determine the need for further ablation, and

while the tissue is being ablated, determining a decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence and updating the digital representation in real time to show the measured decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence throughout the ablation of the tissue.

7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising an inflatable balloon disposed about the distal end of the elongated body.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the ablation device is associated with the balloon for ablating a tissue.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the light source and the sensor are positioned inside the balloon.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the ablation device has an energy source selected from the group consisting of radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, electrical energy, electromagnetic energy, cryoenergy, laser energy, ultrasound energy, acoustic energy, chemical energy, and thermal energy.

11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the light source is a UV light emitting diode (LED).

12. The system of claim 6 , wherein the sensor is configured to convert an optical image into an electronic signal.

13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising one or more optical fibers to deliver the light from the light source to the tissue and to deliver the NADH fluorescence to the sensor.

14. The system of claim 6 , further comprising a first light source and a second light source capable of generating light of a different wavelength than the first light source.

15. The system of claim 6 , further comprising an irrigation port configured to deliver a fluid to the distal end of the elongated body.

16. A system for imaging tissue comprising:

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

an inflatable balloon disposed along the elongated body;

an ablation device associated with the balloon for ablating a tissue;

a light source providing light for illuminating the tissue having at least one wavelength sufficient to excite mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen (NADH) in the tissue;

a sensor for detecting NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue, the sensor being configured to receive light having at least one wavelength to detect the NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue;

one or more optical fibers to deliver the light from the light source to the tissue and to deliver the NADH fluorescence to the sensor, and

a processor programmed to perform the steps of:

obtaining the detected NADH fluorescence from the sensor in real time during ablation of the tissue using the ablation device,

generating a digital representation of the detected NADH fluorescence for monitoring a progression of the ablation of the tissue, and

while the tissue is being ablated, determining a decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence and updating the digital representation in real time to show the measured decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence that is indicative of the progression of the ablation of the tissue to enable a user to determine the need for further ablation.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the light for illuminating the tissue has at least one wavelength between about 300 nm and about 400 nm.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the sensor is configured to receive light having at least one wavelength between about 435 nm and about 485 nm.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the ablation device has an energy source selected from the group consisting of radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, electrical energy, electromagnetic energy, cryoenergy, laser energy, ultrasound energy, acoustic energy, chemical energy, and thermal energy.

20. The system of claim 16 , further comprising an irrigation port configured to deliver a fluid to the distal end of the elongated body.

21. A method for imaging tissue comprising:

advancing to a tissue an elongated body having a distal end and a proximal end;

ablating the tissue with an ablation device disposed at the distal end of the elongated body;

illuminating with light having at least one wavelength between about 300 nm and about 400 nm from a light source an area of tissue including tissue treated by ablation and surrounding tissue to excite NADH in the area of tissue;

detecting with a sensor the area of tissue to detect light having at least one wavelength between about 435 nm and about 485 nm to detect NADH fluorescence of the area of tissue;

obtaining the detected NADH fluorescence from the sensor in real time during ablation of the tissue using the ablation device,

generating a digital representation of the detected NADH fluorescence for monitoring a progression of the ablation of the tissue, wherein a decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue is indicative of the progression of the ablation of the tissue, and

while the tissue is being ablated, determining a decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence and updating the digital representation in real time to show the measured decrease in the detected NADH fluorescence that is indicative of the progression of the ablation of the tissue to enable a user to determine the need for further ablation.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the elongated body comprising an inflatable balloon disposed about the distal end of the elongated body.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the light source and the sensor are positioned inside the balloon.

24. The method of claim 21 , further one or more optical fibers are employed to deliver the light from the light source to the tissue and to deliver the NADH fluorescence to the sensor.

25. The method of claim 21 , wherein the tissue is a heart muscle tissue.

26. The method of claim 21 , further comprising irrigating an area around the tissue using an irrigation port configured to deliver a fluid to the distal end of the elongated body.

27. The method of claim 21 , wherein the ablating is performed with radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, electrical energy, electromagnetic energy, cryoenergy, laser energy, ultrasound energy, acoustic energy, chemical energy, and thermal energy.