The catheter is guided along a blood vessel of a patient by the bipolar
electrode functioning as a mobile sensor on the catheter tip connected to
the electronic unit to monitor the advance of the catheter and determine
any modification of successive signals received from the bipolar
electrode in order to detect any deviation of the catheter tip from the
required path along the blood vessel and to deliver control signals
comprising a GO signal, a STOP signal or an END signal to respectively
enable, interrupt or terminate the advance of the catheter. The bipolar
electrode moreover serves to verify the contact of the catheter tip with
the wall of the heart cavity of the patient by creating impulses and
detecting the appearance of corresponding induced signals on a surface
cardiogram of the patient. The combination of the bipolar electrode on
the catheter with the electronic unit provides a portable catheterization
system particularly suitable for performing urgent cardiac
catheterizations outside hospitals.