Nonlinear modeling of the PWM switch

The nonlinearity due to the switching action in pulse-width-modulated (PWM) DC-to-DC converters, DC-to-AC inverters, or amplifiers and input-current-shaping AC-to-DC converters can often conveniently be confined to three-terminal structure referred to as the PWM switch. The PWM switch represents a static nonlinearity for which circuit models can easily be derived for frequencies harmonically related to the frequency of perturbation. Converter analysis can thus be approached in a way analogous to ordinary transistor circuit analysis whereby the nonlinear three-terminal device is replaced by its circuit model. A first-order approximation of the model results in the small-signal model     

Modeling bipolar phase-shifted multielectrode catheter ablation

Atrial fibrillation (AFIB) is a common clinical problem affecting approximately 0.5-1% of the United States population. Radio-frequency (RF) multielectrode catheter (MEC) ablation has successes in curing AFIB. We utilized finite-element method analysis to determine the myocardial temperature distribution after 30 s, 80 degrees C temperature-controlled unipolar ablation using three 7F 12.5-mm electrodes with 2-mm interelectrode spacing MEC. Numerical results demonstrated that cold spots occurred at the edges of the middle electrode and hot spots at the side electrodes. We introduced the bipolar phase-shifted technique for RF energy delivery of MEC ablation. We determined the optimal phase-shift (phi) between the two sinusoidal voltage sources of a simplified two-dimensional finite-element model. At the optimal phi, we can achieve a temperature distribution that minimizes the difference between temperatures at electrode edges. We also studied the effects of myocardial electric conductivity (sigma), thermal conductivity (k), and the electrode spacing on the optimal phi. When we varied sigma and kappa from 50% to 150%, optimal phi ranged from 29.5 degrees to 23.5 degrees, and in the vicinity of 26.5 degrees, respectively. The optimal phi for 3-mm spacing MEC was 30.5 degrees. We show the design of a simplified bipolar phase-shifted MEC ablation system.     

Quasi-square-wave converters: topologies and analysis

A class of converters with zero-voltage or zero-current switching characteristics is analyzed using a method originally developed for quasiresonant and PWM (pulsewidth-modulated) converters. The method relies on identifying simple three-terminal structures, called converter sections, that contain the switches and the resonant tank elements. The various zero-voltage-switched and zero-current-switched converters are obtained by permutation of these converter sections between source and sink. The method unifies the analysis of this class of converters in a single equivalent circuit model. The voltage and current waveforms in these converters are essentially squarelike except during the turn-on and turn-off switching intervals     

Approximate small-signal analysis of the series and the parallelresonant converters

Approximate transfer functions of series and parallel resonant converters are given which are in good agreement with the results of exact analysis as well as the results of experiments. It is shown that the dominant behavior of these transfer functions is determined by the output low-pass filter modified by the internal impedance of the converter. The high-frequency behavior, on the other hand, is given by a second-order response whose frequency is at the difference between the resonant and the switching frequencies and whose Q is the original resonant Q modified by the internal impedance of the converter     

FEM analysis of predicting electrode-myocardium contact from RF cardiac catheter ablation system impedance

We used the finite-element method (FEM) to model and analyze the resistance between the catheter tip electrode and the dispersive electrode during radio-frequency cardiac catheter ablation for the prediction of myocardium-electrode contact. We included deformation of the myocardial surface to achieve accurate modeling. For perpendicular catheter contact, we measured the side view of myocardial deformation using X-ray projection imaging. We averaged the deformation contour from nine samples, and then incorporated the contour information into our FEM model. We measured the resistivity of the bovine myocardium using the four-electrode method, and then calculated the resistance change as the catheter penetrated into the myocardium. The FEM result of resistance versus catheter penetration depth matches well with our experimental data.     

Using electrical impedance to predict catheter-endocardial contact during RF cardiac ablation

During radio-frequency (RF) cardiac catheter ablation, there is little information to estimate the contact between the catheter tip electrode and endocardium because only the metal electrode shows up under fluoroscopy. We present a method that utilizes the electrical impedance between the catheter electrode and the dispersive electrode to predict the catheter tip electrode insertion depth into the endocardium. Since the resistivity of blood differs from the resistivity of the endocardium, the impedance increases as the catheter tip lodges deeper in the endocardium. In vitro measurements yielded the impedance-depth relations at 1, 10, 100, and 500 kHz. We predict the depth by spline curve interpolation using the obtained calibration curve. This impedance method gives reasonably accurate predicted depth. We also evaluated alternative methods, such as impedance difference and impedance ratio.     

Equivalent circuit models for resonant and PWM switches

The nonlinear switching mechanism in pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) and quasi-resonant converters is that of a three-terminal switching device which consists only of an active and a passive switch. An equivalent circuit model of this switching device describing the perturbations in the average terminal voltages and current is obtained. Through the use of this circuit model the analysis of pulsewidth modulated and quasiresonant converters becomes analogous to transistor circuit analysis where the transistor is replaced by its equivalent circuit model. The conversion ratio characteristics of various resonant converters and their relationship to a single function, called the quasi-resonant function, is easily obtained using the circuit model for the three-terminal switching device. The small-signal response of quasi-resonant converters to perturbations in the switching frequency and input voltage is determined by replacing the three-terminal switching device by its small-signal equivalent circuit model     

Guidelines for predicting lesion size at common endocardial locations during radio-frequency ablation

We used the finite element method to study the effect of radio-frequency (RF) catheter ablation on tissue heating and lesion formation at different intracardiac sites exposed to different regional blood velocities. We examined the effect of application of RF current in temperature- and power-controlled mode above and beneath the mitral valve annulus where the regional blood velocities are high and low respectively. We found that for temperature-controlled ablation, more power was delivered to maintain the preset tip temperature at sites of high local blood velocity than at sites of low local blood velocity. This induced more tissue heating and larger lesion volumes than ablations at low velocity regions. In contrast, for power-controlled ablation, tissue heating was less at sites of high compared with low local blood velocity for the same RF power setting. This resulted in smaller lesion volumes at sites of low local velocity. Our numerical analyzes showed that during temperature-controlled ablation at 60 degrees C, the lesion volumes at sites above and underneath the mitral valve were comparable when the duration of RF current application was 10 s. When the duration of RF application was extended to 60 s and 120 s, lesion volumes were 33.3% and 49.4% larger above the mitral valve than underneath the mitral valve. Also, with temperature-controlled ablation, tip temperature settings of 70 degrees C or greater were associated with a risk of tissue overheating during long ablations at high local blood velocity sites. In power-controlled ablation (20 W), the lesion volume formed underneath the mitral valve was 165.7% larger than the lesion volume above the mitral valve after 10 s of ablation. We summarized the guidelines for energy application at low and high flow regions.