Steerable ablation probe
First Claim
1. A probe assembly for ablating tissue, comprising:
- an elongated shaft having a rigid section and a flexible section distal to the rigid section;
a rigid tissue penetrating element distally associated with the flexible section of the shaft; and
one or more ablative elements distally associated with the flexible section of the shaft.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A probe assembly and method for ablating tissue is provided. The probe assembly comprises an elongated shaft having a rigid section and a flexible section distally extending from the rigid section. The probe assembly further comprises a tissue penetrating element associated with the flexible section. For example, it can be mounted to the flexible section or can be located on a separate element, such as a trocar that can be disposed within the elongated shaft. The probe assembly further comprises one or more ablative elements, such as electrodes, that is associated with the flexible section. Like the tissue penetrating element, the ablative element(s) can be mounted to the flexible section or can be located on a separate element. Thus, the flexible section of the shaft can be flexed to deflect the tissue penetrating element, so that it can be steered through tissue. In this manner, sensitive anatomical structures can be avoided, e.g., if the sensitive structure lies between the tissue region to be treated and the entry point of the probe assembly. An optional steering assembly can be used to provide active steering to the probe assembly.
33 Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A probe assembly for ablating tissue, comprising:
-
an elongated shaft having a rigid section and a flexible section distal to the rigid section;
a rigid tissue penetrating element distally associated with the flexible section of the shaft; and
one or more ablative elements distally associated with the flexible section of the shaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method of treating a tissue region within a patient, comprising:
-
inserting a medical probe into the body of the patient via an entry point;
identifying a sensitive anatomical structure located between the entry point and the tissue region;
advancing the medical probe, such that a distal end of the medical probe bypasses the sensitive anatomical structure;
bending the distal end of the medical probe while the medical probe is within the body of the patient;
placing one or more ablative elements associated with the distal end of the medical probe adjacent the tissue region; and
ablating the tissue region with the one or more ablative elements. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
Specification