Systems and methods for visualizing ablated tissue

1. A system for imaging tissue comprising:

an endovascular catheter having a distal end and a proximal end;

an ablation device disposed at the distal end of the endovascular catheter for ablating the tissue;

an inflatable balloon disposed about the distal end of the catheter;

an optical housing extending from the catheter into the balloon, the optical housing comprising a light source providing light between about 300 nm and about 400 nm for illuminating a tissue outside the balloon to excite mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen (NADH) in the tissue and a sensor being configured to receive light between about 435 nm and about 485 nm to detect NADH fluorescence from the illuminated tissue; and

a processor associated with the sensor and configured to generate a digital representation of the illuminated tissue to distinguish between ablated tissue and non-ablated tissue;

wherein the light source and the sensor are positioned inside the balloon.

2. 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.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the light source is a UV light emitting diode (LED).

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to convert an optical image into an electronic signal.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a support tube extending beyond the distal tip of the catheter to provide a structural support for the balloon.

6. The system of claim 5 further comprising a tip around a distal end of the support tube, the tip being configured to act as the ablation device.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a first light source and a second light source capable of generating light of a different wavelength than the first light source.

8. A system for imaging tissue comprising:

an endovascular catheter having a distal end and a proximal end;

an ablation device disposed at the distal end of the endovascular catheter for ablating a tissue;

an inflatable balloon disposed about the distal end of the catheter; and

an optical housing extending from the distal end of the catheter into the balloon;

a light source disposed inside the balloon, the light source being supported by the optical housing and configured to provide light between about 300 nm and about 400 nm to excite NADH in a tissue;

a sensor disposed inside the balloon, the sensor being supported by the optical housing and configured to detect NADH fluorescence from the tissue illuminated by the light source; and

a processor associated with the sensor and configured to generate a digital representation of the illuminated tissue to distinguish between ablated tissue and non-ablated tissue.

9. The system of claim 8 comprising a second light source for providing white light.

10. A method for imaging tissue comprising:

advancing to a tissue an endovascular catheter comprising an inflatable balloon disposed about the distal end of the catheter and an optical housing extending into the balloon to position a light source and a sensor inside the balloon, wherein the light source and the sensor are supported by the optical housing and are positioned inside the balloon;

ablating the tissue with an ablation device disposed at the distal end of the endovascular catheter;

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

detecting with the sensor the area of tissue to detect light between about 435 nm and about 485 nm to detect NADH fluorescence of the area of tissue; and

producing a representation of the illuminated tissue, the display illustrating ablated tissue as having less fluorescence than non-ablated tissue.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the tissue is a heart muscle tissue.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising ablating additional injured tissue identified by distinguishing between the ablated tissue and the injured non-ablated tissue based on the amount of fluorescence.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising distinguishing between ablated tissue, edematous tissue, and non-ablated tissue.

14. A system for imaging tissue comprising:

an endovascular catheter having a distal end and a proximal end;

an ablation device disposed at the distal end of the endovascular catheter for ablating the tissue;

a light source providing light between about 300 nm and about 400 nm for illuminating a tissue 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 between about 435 nm and about 485 nm 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 associated with the sensor and configured to generate a digital representation of the illuminated tissue to distinguish between ablated tissue and non-ablated tissue.