fig1 illustrates a catheter 2 having a handle 4 from which a flexible body 6 extends . flexible body 6 extends from one end 8 of handle 4 while ultrasonic cable 10 and a combination electrode / thermistor cable 12 extend from the other end 14 of handle 4 . distal end 16 of flexible body 6 is steerable , as suggested by the dashed lines 18 in fig1 in a conventional manner using a steering lever 20 mounted to handle 4 . lever 20 which controls one or more steering cables 22 , see fig2 as is conventional . distal end 16 has an rf transmitting tip 24 secured thereto . transmitting tip 24 is connected to an appropriate rf energy source , not shown , through lead 26 which extends along flexible body 6 , through handle 4 and through combined cable 12 . tip 24 has a pair of axially extending bores 28 , 30 formed from its distal end 32 . bore 28 is used to house an ultrasonic transducer 34 while bore 30 is used to house a thermistor 36 . transducer 34 is surrounded by a thermal insulating sleeve 38 , typically made of insulating material such as polyimide . the base 40 of transducer 34 has a lead 41 extending from transducer 34 , along flexible body 6 , through handle 4 and through ultrasonic cable 10 . the ultrasonic transducer comprises a piezoelectric crystal capable of operating at a standard frequency , typically from about 5 to about 50 mhz . the crystal is formed from standard materials such as barium titanate , cinnabar , or zirconate - titanate . the transducer 34 generates an ultrasonic pulse in response to electrical impulses delivered through lead 41 . ultrasonic echoes are then received by the ultrasonic transducer 34 which generates electrical signals which are delivered to the receiving unit ( not shown ). the transducer is connected to conventional transmitting and receiving units which include the circuitry necessary for interpreting the ultrasonic information and displaying the information on a visual display . signal processing may take advantage of change in tissue density or texture as correlated with lesion depth . the ultrasonic signal can be visualized on a two dimensional echocardiograph or using non - imaging a - mode . base 40 of transducer 34 is sealed with a uv potting adhesive 42 , such as tough medical bonder made by loctite , to provide both thermal and electrical insulation . the catheter also comprises an ultrasonic transponder 44 , shown schematically in fig3 spaced about 2 . 5 mm from rf transmitting tip 24 at the distel end 16 of body 6 . transponder 44 is used to help in localization of the catheter tip as is known in the art and described in langberg et al ., jacc 12 : 218 - 223 ( 1988 ). in alternate embodiments , multiple transponders can be used to help with assessing catheter tip orientation as well . in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , the ablation apparatus exemplified by the use of rf transmitting tip 24 . in addition to tip electrode 24 , catheter 2 also includes three ring electrodes 46 , 47 , 48 positioned in a proximal direction , that is towards handle 4 relative to tip electrode 24 and transducer 44 . electrodes 46 - 48 ( spaced 2 . 5 ma apart ) are used to record electrical signals produced by the heart ( electrocardiograms ) for endocardial mapping using a multichannel ekg machine as is known n e art . thermistor 36 is coupled to combination cable 12 through a lead 50 extending from thermistor 36 , to flexible body 6 , through handle 4 and into combination cable 12 . thermistor 36 is used to provide information about the temperature of the tissue at the distal end 32 of tip 24 . separately , the above - discussed apparatus used to create ultrasonic visualization of the tissue to be ablated is generally conventional . an discussed above , the ultrasonic visualization means may be used for either imaging or a - mode . one such ultrasonic imaging system is sold by cardiovascular imaging systems of sunnyvale , calif . similarly , the rf ablation system , used to ablate the tissue , is also generally conventional , such as is sold , for example , by ep technologies of sunnyvale , calif . what is novel is incorporating both the imaging and ablation structure into a single catheter which permits real time visualization and accurate positioning of the rp transmitter tip 24 with the precise location to be ablated . the amount or volume of tissue ablated can thus be constantly monitored during the procedure so that neither too little nor too much tissue is ablated for maximum control and effectiveness . the use of temperature monitoring using thermistor 36 is also generally conventional as well , but not in conjunction with an ultrasonic imaging assembly . instead of using rf energy to ablate the tissue , microwave radiation , laser energy , cryoblation or endocardial injection / infusion , for example , can be used in conjunction with ultrasonic transducer 34 . the use of catheter 2 proceeds generally as follows . distal end 16 of body 6 is directed to the appropriate site using conventional techniques and steering lever 20 . visualization of the tissue to be ablated and localization of the tip 24 is provided by ultrasonic transducer 34 , ultrasonic transponder 44 , and associated leads and cables coupled to a conventional ultrasonic imagining console , not shown . when tip 24 is at the site of the tissue to be ablated , rf generator , not shown , coupled to combination cable 12 , is activated to produce rf radiation at tip 24 to ablate the tissue . the ablation is monitored by ultrasonic transducer 34 as well as thermistor 36 to help ensure that the proper volume of tissue is ablated . when the proper volume of tissue is ablated , body 6 is removed from the patient . instead of the use of catheter 2 including an rf transmitter tip 24 , the catheter could use an ablation fluid infusion tip similar to that shown in fig4 - 7 . also , preparatory to the ablation sequence , the suspect area can be temporarily suppressed or deadened using catheter 60 using lidocaine or iced saline solution , as discussed in the background section above . referring the reader now to fig4 - 7 , a catheter 60 is shown catheter 60 includes a handle 62 from which a flexible body 64 extends . handle 62 includes a steering lever 65 and combination infusion port 66 and needle driver 68 at the distal end 70 of handle 62 . a pair of cables 72 extend from the proximal end 74 of handle 62 . the distal end 76 of flexible body 64 has a tip assembly 78 mounted thereto . tip assembly 78 includes mapping electrodes so connected to wires 82 which extend down flexible body 64 , through handle 62 and to cables 72 . mapping electrodes 80 provide the user with a nonvisual indication of where tip assembly is by monitoring the electro - activity of the heart muscle , as is conventional . electrodes so are electrically isolated from the remainder of tip assembly 78 by an insulating sleeve 84 . a hollow needle 86 is slidably mounted within a second insulating sleeve 88 housed within insulating sleeve 84 . the needle may be formed from standard metal alloys such as titanium alloy , stainless steel , and cobalt steel . the needle 86 is a corkscrew - shaped needle used to inject ablating liquid into tissue and secure the needle to the tissue . other designs of hollow needles , including the use of barbs on a straight or curved needle , can be used as well . while hollow needle 86 is shown sued with a generally conventional mapping electrode type of catheter , it could be used with an ultrasonic visualization assembly as shown in fig1 - 3 , as well as other types of visualization assemblies . a central bore ( not shown ) of hollow needle 86 is coupled to infusion port 66 by an infusion fluid tube 92 which extends along flexible body 64 , through needle driver 68 and to infusion port 66 . threaded needle driver 68 is connected to a tip extension 94 so that rotating needle driver 68 causes tip extension 94 to rotate about the axis 95 of needle 86 and to move axially within flexible body 64 . this causes hollow needle 86 to rotate about axis 95 and to move axially within sleeve 88 from the retracted position of fig5 to the extended position of fig6 . rotating needle driver 68 also rotates hollow needle 86 so that it bores into the tissue to be ablated . when properly in position , an appropriate liquid , such as ethanol , can be infused into the tissue to be ablated through infusion port 66 , infusion fluid tube 92 , hollow needle 86 , and into the tissue . since the tip 100 of hollow needle 86 is buried within the tissue to be ablated , the operator is assured that the ablation liquid is delivered to the proper place while minimizing ablation of surrounding tissue . turning now to fig8 the distal end 102 of a catheter of the present invention is shown . the hollow corkscrew infusion needle 104 is movably positioned within flexible distal tube 106 . the flexible tube 106 allows movement of the distal end 102 in response to the steering mechanism 112 . the steering mechanism 112 is conventional and functions as is known in the art . the distal end 102 also comprises mapping electrodes 108 which monitor electro activity of the heart muscle as described above . the mapping electrodes are connected through signal wires 111 to standard multichannel ekg machine as is known in the art . the braided torque tube 114 is connected to the inside diameter of the infusion needle 104 and provides means for rotating the infusion needle 104 about the longitudinal axis 105 of the catheter and moving the needle 104 axially within the distal tube 106 . the braided torque tube 114 consists of standard flexible tubing overlapped with a wire braid which stiffens the tube and allows torquing of the tube to rotate the needle 104 . fig9 shows the handle assembly 115 of a catheter of the present invention . the braided torque tube 114 is connected to an infusion needle advance / retract knob 116 by which the user controls axial movement of the infusion needle 104 . a female luer lock infusion port is positioned on the advance / retract knob 116 . a standard strain relief means 118 prevents kinking of the flexible tube 119 . also provided is a handle 120 secured to the catheter through front handle support 122 and rear handle support 124 . the handle assembly 115 is attached to a standard steering / mapping catheter handle 130 as is conventional and signal wires 132 are connected to the appropriate receiving units . fig1 a through 10c show the distal end 134 of a catheter comprising an infusion needle 136 connected to a braided torque tube 138 as described above . the distal tube 142 also comprises an elastomeric seal 152 made from standard materials well known to those of skill in the art . the elastomeric seal 152 provides a seal for the distal tube 142 and prevents blood from flowing into the lumen of the catheter . typically , the infusion needle 136 is coated with a compound such as mold release , to facilitate movement of the needle through the elastomeric seal 152 . also included in this embodiment is a set of spring loaded pre - curved anchoring needles 144 positioned near the outer edge of the distal tube 142 . the anchoring needles are attached to a shuttle 150 and compression spring 146 which are triggered through pull wires 148 through a trigger device on the handle . the function of the trigger device is shown more fully in fig1 a , 13 b and 14 . fig1 b shows the extended anchoring needles 144 after the triggering device has released the shuttle 150 and compression spring 146 . this mechanism permits the distal end of the catheter to be attached in an almost instantaneous fashion and eliminates the effects of cardiac motion on the attachment procedure . fig1 c is an end view of the distal end 134 showing the position of the pre - curved anchoring needles 144 after release . in the embodiment shown here , the anchoring needles 144 are curved towards the longitudinal axis of the catheter . the anchoring needles 114 , however , can be curved towards or away from the longitudinal axis . fig1 d generically depicts barbs 115 that may be used in the same way as the anchoring needles discussed above . fig1 a and 11b show a further embodiment of the catheter comprising anchoring needles 162 which are used for infusion as well as anchoring . in this embodiment , the needles 162 are connected to infusion channel 160 through which the ablation liquid or other compound is delivered to the infusion needles 162 . the infusion needles 162 are shown in the extended position after the shuttle 166 and compression spring 164 have moved the needles 162 axially through the distal tube 156 . as with other embodiments , map electrodes 154 can be used to create an electro physiological map of the tissue . braided tube 158 is used to anchor the compression spring 164 . the infusion needles are curved outward as well as inward in this embodiment ( fig1 b ). fig1 is an end view of the distal end 168 of a catheter of the invention showing the arrangement of infusion needles 170 in which five needles project away from the longitudinal axis and five project toward the axis . fig1 a and 13b illustrate the trigger assembly by which the pre - curved needles 200 are released from the distal end 202 of the catheters of the present invention . fig1 a shows the pre - curved needles 200 in the retracted position within the flexible distal tube 204 . the pre - curved needles 200 are attached to the shuttle 206 which is held in place by three trigger tabs 208 , two of which are illustrated in fig1 a . the trigger tabs 208 are permanently fixed to the front stop 210 and pre - loaded against the inner diameter 212 of the distal tube 204 . as in the other embodiments disclosed above , the pre - curved needles 200 are fluidly connected to infusion channel 214 , which enters the flexible distal tube distal 204 , through braided tube 211 . map electrodes 216 are used to create an electro physiological map of the heart as described . fig1 b shows the pre - curved needles 200 in the extended position after the trigger tabs 208 have been pulled towards the longitude axis of the catheter by the trigger pull wires 220 . once the trigger tabs 208 have been pulled towards the longitude axis , the shuttle 206 is released and the compression spring 222 drives the shuttle 206 and needles 200 rapidly towards the distal tip of the catheter . the inertia of the catheter body prevents the tip from withdrawing and needles 200 are subsequently driven into the target tissue . fig1 b also shows the position of the trigger tabs 208 an the inner diameter of the shuttle 206 after the shuttle 206 has moved forward . after use the shuttle pull wires 218 are activated to pull the pre - curved needles 200 to the retracted position . fig1 shows the handle assembly 230 comprising a handle body 232 from which this position and ablation tip steering lover 234 . the handle body 232 comprises a needle trigger 236 which is shown in both the cocked and fired ( dashed lines ) positions . the distal end of the trigger wires 238 are attached between the distal end 240 and the pivot point 242 to insure the wires 238 are pulled when the lever is pulled . the retractor 244 is shown in the cocked and fired ( dashed lines ) positions , as well . the pull wires 244 are attached between the pivot point 246 and the distal end of the retractor 248 as for the trigger . the handle assembly includes a lead 250 which allows for connection to appropriate ablation compound as described above . modification and variation can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the subject of the invention as defined in the following claims .
this is a method and an apparatus for the introduction of therapeutic compounds into tissue , particularly cardiac tissue . the apparatus includes a catheter having an elongated flexible body and a tissue infusion apparatus including a hollow infusion needle configured to secure the needle into the tissue when the needle is at least partially inserted into the tissue to help prevent inadvertent removal of the needle from the tissue . this permits the selected therapeutic compound to be delivered to a specific site . the catheter may also include a visualization assembly including a transducer at the distal end of the body .