MEDICAL SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ABLATING AND ABSORBING TISSUE

• US 20100262133A1
• Filed: 02/03/2010
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tsunami MedTech, LLC
• Original Assignee: Tsunami MedTech, LLC
• Inventors: HOEY, Michael, SHADDUCK, John H.
• Granted Patent: US 11,284,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/27
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/04 by heating by applying electromagnetic radiation A61B18/18; hyperthermia using electric or magnetic fields, radiation or ultrasound A61N
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/06 caused by chemical reaction , e.g. moxaburners
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/048 in gaseous form

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems are described herein for applying energy to tissue for ablation of tissue while allowing the tissue to be resorbed within the body. Such methods, devices, and systems control application of energy to maintain a temperature of target tissue above an ablation temperature, being dependent upon the activation time, and below a transformation temperature, also being dependent upon the activation time, where the transformation prevents or hinders resorption of the treated tissue by the body.

Claims

1. A method of applying energy to a region of tissue to cause resorption of the tissue by a body, the method comprising:

applying energy to the region of tissue for an activation time where the energy is uniformly delivered to prevent regions of high energy density in the region of tissue; and

controlling the energy delivery such that the region of tissue remains below a target temperature where the target temperature is dependent upon the activation time of the energy and is sufficient to ablate the region of tissue without causing a transformation of the region of tissue, where transformation of the tissue prevents eventual resorption of at least a portion of the region of tissue.

2. The method of claim 1, where resorption of the tissue comprises destruction, disappearance, and or dissolution of the region of tissue by a natural biochemical activity of the body.

3. The method of claim 1, where controlling the energy delivery such that the region of tissue remains below the target temperature comprises controlling the energy delivery such that the region of tissue remains below a heat fixation temperature, where the heat fixation temperature is dependent upon the activation time of the energy.

4. The method of claim 1, where applying energy comprises delivering a vapor media to the region of tissue where upon contacting the region of tissue energy transfer occurs from the vapor media and the tissue.

5. The method of claim 4, where controlling the energy delivery such that the region of tissue remains below the target temperature comprises controlling a temperature of the vapor media.

6. The method of claim 5, where controlling the temperature of the vapor media comprises combining the vapor media a second media to control the temperature.

9. The method of claim 1, where applying energy to the region of tissue comprises inserting an energy delivery device into the body to the region of tissue.

10. The method of claim 9, where the region of tissue comprises a shape of tissue selected from the group consisting of a tissue structure, a wall of tissue, a body orifice, a passageway in the body, a cavity within the body, a lumen in an organ, and a vessel.

11. The method of claim 9, where the region of tissue comprises a region selected from the group consisting of an eye, brain, sinus, nasal passageway, oral cavity, blood vessel, arteriovascular malformation, heart, airway, lung, bronchus, bronchiole, larynx, trachea, Eustachian tube, uterus, vaginal canal, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, ileum, colon, rectum, bladder, urethra, ureter, vas deferens, prostate, kidney, gall bladder, pancreas, bone, joint capsule, tumor, fibroid, benign tissue mass, vascularized tissue mass, hemorrhoid, tissue mass including a plexus of dilated veins, a neoplastic mass and a cyst.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising moving the energy delivery device while applying energy.

13. The method of claim 1, where wherein the region of tissue comprises a tissue selected from the group consisting of a neoplastic tissue, a hypertrophic and hyperplastic tissue.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising introducing an additional therapeutic media with the vapor media.

16. The method of claim 15, where the additional therapeutic media enhances ablation of the target tissue.

7-8. -8. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

17. A method of ablating a region of tissue, the method comprising:

providing an energy supply that delivers energy in a uniform manner to the region of tissue such that the energy does not contain any regions of high energy density; and

controlling the energy supply to deliver energy to the region of tissue to increase a treatment temperature of tissue where the treatment temperature is sufficiently high to cause ablation of the region of tissue but insufficient to cause a fixation transformation of the treated tissue, where the fixation transformation prevents resorption of at least a portion of the region of tissue.

18. The method of claim 17, where resorption of the region of tissue comprises destruction, disappearance, and or dissolution of the region of the region of tissue by a natural biochemical process of the body.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein controlling the energy supply to deliver energy comprises delivering a vapor media to the region of tissue where upon contacting the region of tissue energy transfers occurs from the vapor media and the region of tissue.

20. The method of claim 19, where controlling the energy supply comprises controlling a temperature of the vapor media.

21. The method of claim 20, where controlling the temperature of the vapor media comprises combining a second media with the vapor media to control the temperature.

22-31. -31. (canceled)

32. A method of applying energy to a region of tissue to cause resorption of the tissue by the body, the method comprising:

producing a vapor media by applying an amount of energy to a fluid media;

directing the vapor media to the region of tissue for a treatment time, where the vapor media delivers energy uniformly within the region of tissue such that a temperature of the region of tissue rises above an ablation temperature, where the ablation temperature is dependent upon the treatment time; and

controlling the amount of energy applied to the fluid media such that the temperature of the region of tissue remains below a transformation temperature, where exceeding the transformation temperature causes transformation of a portion of the region of tissue and prevents resorption of at least some of the region tissue, where the transformation temperature is dependent upon the treatment time.

33. The method of claim 32, where resorption of the tissue comprises destruction, disappearance, and or dissolution of the region of tissue by a natural biochemical activity of the body.

34. The method of claim 32, where controlling the amount of energy applied to the fluid media such that the region of tissue remains below the target temperature comprises controlling the amount of energy applied to the fluid media such that the region of tissue remains below a heat fixation temperature, where the heat fixation temperature is dependent upon the activation time of the energy.

35. The method of claim 32, where controlling the amount of energy applied to the fluid media such that the region of tissue remains below the target temperature comprises controlling a temperature of the vapor media.

36. The method of claim 35, where controlling the temperature of the vapor media comprises combining the vapor media a second media to control the temperature.

37-44. -44. (canceled)

45. A system for ablating a tissue, the system comprising:

a fluid media source;

a fluid delivery device coupled to the fluid media source, where the fluid delivery device is configured to apply a vaporization energy to the fluid media and where the vaporization energy exceeds a heat of vaporization of the fluid media therein to convert the fluid media to a vapor media, where the fluid delivery device comprises at least one vapor delivery port to direct the vapor media to the tissue such that when the vapor media contacts the tissue energy transfer occurs from the vapor media to the tissue; and

a controller coupled to the fluid delivery device, where the controller is configured to controlling delivery of the vaporization energy to maintain a treatment temperature of the tissue above an ablation temperature of the tissue and below a transformation temperature of the tissue, such that the energy ablates the tissue allowing the tissue to subsequently be resorbed by the body.