Cryoprobe incorporating electronic module, and system utilizing same
First Claim
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1. A cryotherapy system comprisinga) at least one cryoprobe which comprisesi) a treatment head coolable by delivery thereto of a cryogen;
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b) a cryogen supply; and
c) a cryogen control module which comprisesi) an inquiry mechanism operable to send an inquiry signal to said cryoprobe and to uniquely identify said cryoprobe upon receipt of a response signal sent by said cryoprobe in answer to said inquiry signal;
ii) a first memory for recording information about uniquely identified cryoprobes;
iii) a cryogen flow control mechanism for regulating flow of cryogen from said cryogen supply to said cryoprobe; and
iv) a first calculation module for calculating cryogen flow commands which influence operation of said cryogen flow control mechanism, said calculation being based at least in part on information associated with said uniquely identified cryoprobe and stored in said first memory.
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Abstract
A cryotherapy system comprises a cryoprobe comprising, for example, either an electronic module including a memory or a response module operable to respond to a query signal with a response signal. A communications interface uses these modules to establish a unique identification of the cryoprobe, and a control module regulates delivery of cryogen to the cryoprobe according to calculations at least partially based on stored data associated with that unique cryoprobe identification.
922 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A cryotherapy system comprising
a) at least one cryoprobe which comprises i) a treatment head coolable by delivery thereto of a cryogen; - and
ii) a response module operable to receive a query signal from a controller and to send a response signal in response to said query signal; b) a cryogen supply; and c) a cryogen control module which comprises i) an inquiry mechanism operable to send an inquiry signal to said cryoprobe and to uniquely identify said cryoprobe upon receipt of a response signal sent by said cryoprobe in answer to said inquiry signal; ii) a first memory for recording information about uniquely identified cryoprobes; iii) a cryogen flow control mechanism for regulating flow of cryogen from said cryogen supply to said cryoprobe; and iv) a first calculation module for calculating cryogen flow commands which influence operation of said cryogen flow control mechanism, said calculation being based at least in part on information associated with said uniquely identified cryoprobe and stored in said first memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for cryosurgery, comprising
a) reading information descriptive of a cryoprobe into a controller; -
b) using said controller to associate said read information with a cryoprobe by i) sending an inquiry signal based on said read information to a cryoprobe, ii) receiving a response signal from said cryoprobe in response to said inquiry signal; and iii) associating said read information with said cryoprobe if and only if said response signal conforms to predetermined criteria; and c) using said controller to calculate commands controlling supply of cryogen to said cryoprobe, said calculation being at least partially based on read information which said controller has associated with said cryoprobe in response to said response signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method for regulating use of a cryoprobe, comprising:
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a) reading information descriptive of a cryoprobe into a controller; b) associating said read information with a cryoprobe attached to a controller by i) sending an inquiry signal based on said read information to a cryoprobe, ii) receiving a response signal from said cryoprobe in response to said inquiry signal; and iii) associating said read information with said cryoprobe and with a unique identity tag if and only if said response signal conforms to predetermined criteria; c) recording an activity history of said cryoprobe by recording probe usage events related to use of said cryoprobe in a memory record associated with said unique identity tag; and c) regulating use of said cryoprobe by controlling cryogen flow as a function of recorded information associated with said unique identity tag.
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18. A method of charging a customer for cryoprobe use, comprising:
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a) supplying to a customer a plurality of cryoprobes, each associated with a unique identifying tag; b) using a cryosurgery control module to record usage statistics for each of said cryoprobes when said cryoprobes are used; and c) charging a customer according to said recorded usage statistics.
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19. A cryotherapy system comprising
a) a cryoprobe which comprises i) a treatment head coolable by delivery thereto of a cryogen; - and
ii) an embedded electronic module which comprises a memory and a communication interface; b) a cryogen supply; and c) a cryogen control module operable to regulate flow of cryogen from said cryogen supply to said cryoprobe in response to information received from said embedded electronic module, wherein at least one of a group consisting of said electronic module and said control module is programmed to record operational testing of said cryoprobe, and said control module is operable to prevent clinical use of said cryoprobe if said cryoprobe has not been operationally tested. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method for regulating use of a cryoprobe, comprising:
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a) recording a unique identification code in a read-only memory embedded in a cryoprobe; b) recording an activity history of said cryoprobe by recording probe usage events associated with said unique identification code; and c) regulating use of said probe by identifying said cryoprobe by reading said unique identification code from said read-only memory, and choosing between supplying cryogen to said probe and denying supply of cryogen to said probe, said choice being determined algorithmically as a function of a recorded probe activity history identified by said unique identification code.
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23. A method for cryosurgery, comprising:
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a) recording, in an electronic module embedded in a cryoprobe, information characterizing said probe; and b) algorithmically regulating use of said probe by choosing between supplying cryogen to said probe and denying supply of cryogen to said probe, said choice being determined algorithmically based on a reading of said recorded probe characterization and upon a recorded history of usage of said cryoprobe.
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24. A method charging a customer for cryoprobe use, comprising:
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a) supplying to a customer a plurality of cryoprobes each of which comprises an electronic module which comprises a read-only memory holding a unique identity number; b) using a cryosurgery control module to record usage statistics for each of said cryoprobes when said cryoprobes are used; and c) charging a customer according to said recorded usage statistics.
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Specification