Clinical implications
The present study suggests that RF application should be performed in accordance with the characteristics of each catheter (Figure 3B). The FlexAblilityTM SE catheter has a thermocouple at the distal end of the tip, which enables it to monitor tissue temperature more accurately, therefore safer RF application can be performed. Although lesion volume from the FlexAbilityTM SE catheter is similar to that of the TactiCathTM SE catheter with parallel catheter placement, it becomes smaller when the catheter is placed perpendicularly. The TactiCathTM SE catheter has an advantage in creating larger lesions even with a perpendicular placement, but in order to ensure safety, risk factors for steam-pops such as impedance decrease and contact force should be carefully monitored, because of the lower sensitivity in measuring tissue temperature due to the proximal location of the thermocouple.