Heatable sling support for an anatomical location

• US 20070219606A1
• Filed: 03/14/2006
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Intoccia, Alfred, Moreci, Stephen, Grillo, Francis
• Granted Patent: US 8,170,686 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/101
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00642 with feedback, i.e. closed loop control
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00702 Power or energy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00791 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1407 Loop
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/0045 Support slings
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0001 Means for transferring electromagnetic energy to implants
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0045 differing in electromagnetical properties

Abstract

The invention provides, in various embodiments, systems, devices and methods relating to employing thermal treatment of tissue in combination with an implantable sling to treat urinary incontinence.

Claims

1. A sling assembly for supporting an anatomical location in a patient comprising:

an implantable sling sized and shaped for providing support to tissue at the anatomical location, and

an electrically conductive element disposed in or on the implantable sling and couplable to an electromagnetic excitation source.

2. The sling assembly of claim 1, the sling further comprising end terminations, wherein the electrically conductive element extends between the end terminations of the sling.

3. The sling assembly of claim 2, wherein said electrically conductive element comprises low-resistance end portions located proximate to the end terminations, and one or more additional portions electrically connected either directly or indirectly to the low-resistance end portions, said additional portions having an electrical resistance greater than that of the end portions.

4. The sling assembly of claim 2, further comprising contact portions disposed on or near the end terminations for connection to an external source of electric energy.

5. The sling assembly of claim 2, further comprising contact portions disposed on or near the end terminations for connection to an internal source of electric energy implanted in the body of a patient.

6. The sling assembly of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive element extends over a portion of the sling.

7. The sling assembly of claim 6, wherein the sling portion is located at a location of the sling intended for supporting the tissue at the anatomical location.

8. The sling assembly of claim 6, wherein the electrically conductive element comprises at least one electrically conductive strand.

9. The sling assembly of claim 8, wherein the electrically conductive strand is woven into the sling.

10. The sling assembly of claim 8, wherein the electrically conductive strand is applied to the sling.

11. The sling assembly of claim 8, wherein the electrically conductive strand is selected from the group consisting of metal wire, metal-coated plastic, metal-coated insulator, metal-dispersed insulator, semiconductor, and conductive polymer.

12. The sling assembly of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive element comprises a dispersed electrically conducting material.

13. The sling assembly of claim 8, wherein the electrically conductive strand comprises a plurality of strands that are substantially non-overlapping.

14. The sling assembly of claim 8, wherein the electrically conductive strand comprises a plurality of strands that are overlapping at predetermined contact points so as to form electrically conducting loops.

15. The sling assembly of claim 3, wherein the additional portions having the greater electrical resistance are made of a different material than the end portions.

16. The sling assembly of claim 3, wherein the additional portions having the greater electrical resistance have a reduced thickness compared to the end portions.

17. The sling assembly of claim 3, wherein the additional portions having the greater electrical resistance comprise a perforated conductive sheet.

18. The sling assembly of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive element heats up in response to energy supplied by the electromagnetic excitation source.

19. A system for applying thermal energy to an anatomical location in a patient comprising:

an implantable sling sized and shaped for providing support to tissue at the anatomical location,

an electrically conductive element disposed in or on the sling, and

an electromagnetic excitation source coupling energy to the electrically conductive element for conversion into thermal energy.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the electromagnetic excitation source produces a radio-frequency (RF) field.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the RF field is resistively coupled to the electrically conductive element.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the RF field is capacitively coupled to the electrically conductive element.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the RF field is inductively coupled to the electrically conductive element.

24. A method for supporting an anatomical location in a patient, comprising:

implanting a sling sized and shaped for providing support to tissue at the anatomical location,

coupling an electromagnetic excitation source to an electrically conductive element disposed in or on the sling to produce thermal energy, and

heating the tissue proximate to the anatomical location by applying to the tissue the thermal energy produced by the electrically conductive element.

25. Use of a supportive sling having an electrically conductive element disposed in or on the sling for treatment of urinary incontinence, comprising:

implanting the sling at an anatomical location of a patient,

coupling an electromagnetic excitation source to the electrically conductive element to produce thermal energy, thereby heating the tissue proximate to the anatomical location and strengthening or tightening the tissue to provide added support for the urethra.

26. A method for removing an implanted sling from an anatomical location in a patient, comprising:

coupling an electromagnetic excitation source to an electrically conductive element disposed in or on the sling to produce thermal energy, thereby heating the tissue proximate to the anatomical location, and applying a pulling force to the sling to pull the sling away from the anatomical location.

27. A sling assembly for supporting an anatomical location in a patient comprising:

an implantable sling sized and shaped for providing support to tissue at the anatomical location, and

a heat-conductive element disposed in or on the implantable sling and couplable to a heat source.