Multi-Pole Synchronous Pulmonary Artery Radiofrequency Ablation Catheter A Multi-Electrode Catheter for Treating Pulmonary Hypertension by Denervation

This patent describes a steerable, multi-electrode radiofrequency ablation catheter designed for pulmonary artery denervation, an emerging interventional procedure for treating pulmonary hypertension. The device combines a flexible distal end, an annular electrode ring with shape-memory backing, and a cold saline perfusion channel that protects the vascular wall during energy delivery.

The Problem

Pulmonary hypertension is a progressive disease of elevated pressure in the pulmonary arteries, leading to right heart strain, exercise limitation and, eventually, right heart failure. Pharmacological treatment improves symptoms in many patients but does not cure the disease, and a subset of patients are refractory to drugs or cannot tolerate them. Interventional approaches based on ablating the sympathetic nerve fibres surrounding the pulmonary arteries, analogous to the better-known renal denervation procedures for hypertension, have generated growing clinical interest. The technical challenge is delivering controlled radiofrequency energy at multiple discrete points around the inside of a relatively soft, moving vessel, without injuring the intimal lining, while keeping the procedure short.

What This Invention Does

The patent describes a multi-pole synchronous pulmonary artery radiofrequency ablation catheter. The device has a control handle at the proximal end with an adjustment mechanism that tensions a pull wire running through a hollow catheter body to a flexible distal segment. At the tip is an annular ring, reinforced with a shape-memory wire so it springs into a defined open configuration when deployed against the vessel wall. The ring carries a set of electrodes, each connected to a lead wire and a temperature sensor that run back through the catheter to the handle. Cold saline can be perfused through the device to protect the vascular intima during radiofrequency delivery, while the multi-electrode geometry allows synchronous, controlled ablation at multiple points around the artery.

The disclosure covers the device itself and methods of using it for diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension by sympathetic denervation in the pulmonary artery.

Key Features

• Annular multi-electrode ring. Multiple electrodes arranged around an annular tip allow synchronous ablation at several sites in one positioning, shortening procedure time.
• Shape-memory expansion. A shape-memory wire integrated into the ring gives the deployed electrodes a predictable, reproducible footprint against the vessel wall.
• Steerable flexible tip. Pull wire tension adjusted at the handle controls the radian of the distal end, allowing the operator to navigate the curved anatomy of the pulmonary artery.
• Per-electrode temperature sensing. A temperature sensor wired to each electrode provides closed-loop feedback so the operator can keep tissue temperatures inside the therapeutic window.
• Cold saline intima protection. A perfusion channel that bathes the contact zone in cold saline reduces collateral injury to the intimal surface during radiofrequency energy delivery.

Who Is Behind It

The applicant is Pulnovo Medical (Wuxi) Co., Ltd., a Chinese medical device company that has been a pioneer of pulmonary artery denervation therapy and has run multinational clinical programs in the field. The named inventor is Shaoliang Chen, a prominent Chinese interventional cardiologist whose research group at Nanjing Medical University has published widely on pulmonary artery denervation and is associated with the development of Pulnovo’s platform. The Australian patent attorney of record is listed on the title page.

Why It Matters

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a high-mortality condition with limited treatment options once pharmacotherapy is maximised. If pulmonary artery denervation is validated at scale, the device platforms that deliver it stand to become the dominant interventional treatment for a growing patient population, much as renal denervation systems are doing for resistant systemic hypertension. Australia is an early-adopter market for novel cardiovascular interventional devices and has active centres in pulmonary hypertension research, making a local filing strategically important for any company seeking to commercialise such a platform here.

Related Concepts

• Pulmonary artery denervation – the therapeutic concept the device enables.
• Radiofrequency ablation – the energy modality used for the ablation.
• Renal denervation – the analogous, more clinically advanced denervation procedure for systemic hypertension.
• Nitinol – a common shape-memory alloy used in self-expanding catheter components.
• Pulmonary hypertension – the underlying disease the device is intended to treat.

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AU 2026201873 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 2 April 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.