Abstract: Provided herein are systems, devices, and methods for performing a medical procedure on a patient. The system comprises an ablation catheter comprising a shaft, at least one therapeutic element positioned on the shaft, and one or more tissue-contact sensing components configured to provide a contact signal related to the level of contact between the at least one therapeutic element and tissue. The system further comprises: an energy delivery unit configured to deliver ablative energy to the at least one therapeutic element to create a lesion in target tissue, and to provide an energy delivery data; a force module configured to receive the contact signal and provide contact data; and a processing unit configured to determine an ablation index based on both the energy delivery data and the contact data. The ablation index can represent the status of the lesion being created.