Side-viewing near-infrared spectroscopy for lesion depth mapping on the left ventricle epicardium

The purpose of this study was to develop a fiber-based, side-viewing, multi-detector, near-infrared spectroscopy probe designed to enhance the safety and effectiveness of epicardial radio-frequency ablation. Two probes, consisting of fibers polished at a 45-degree angle with 7 source-detection separations spanning from 1 to 7 mm, were used to map ten ex vivo porcine ventricles encompassing 124 lesions with different depths. A trained linear regression model predicted lesion depth with a robust explanatory power, while binary lesion detection delivered highly accurate tissue discernment. The side-viewing probe promises safer, effective epicardial ablation and facilitates rapid translation to clinical practice.