Catheters for treating prostate disease
First Claim
1. In a catheter adapted to be inserted into an orifice of a male patient for treating prostate disease, wherein said catheter comprises means including microwave antenna means for irradiating said patient'"'"'s prostate with a given distribution of microwave field intensity, thereby to heat tissue of said patient to a temperature which tends to vary as a direct function of microwave power and as an inverse function of the distance of that tissue to said microwave antenna means, and wherein the maximum microwave power to be employed is limited to an amount at which the temperature of the patient'"'"'s heated tissue most proximate to said microwave antenna means does not exceed a given safe maximum temperature;
- the improvement wherein said catheter further comprises;
an inflatable balloon inside of which said microwave antenna means is situated, said balloon being structured to have a cross-section which is expandable in size from a first value no larger than the cross-section of said orifice when said balloon is deflated to a second value substantially larger than the cross-section of said orifice when said balloon is inflated to a given pressure, said given pressure being sufficient to squeeze and compress tissue of said patient adjacent said balloon and permit the size of said balloon cross-section to be expanded to its second value;
whereby said catheter may be (1) inserted into said orifice while in a deflated state and positioned therein at a location at which both said balloon and said microwave antenna means are in cooperative relationship with said patient'"'"'s prostate for effecting the irradiation of said patient'"'"'s prostate with said given distribution of microwave field intensity when said catheter is fully inserted into said orifice, and (2) said balloon may be inflated to said given pressure when said catheter is fully inserted for expanding the size of its cross-section to said second value, resulting in both prostate tissue and that non-prostate tissue situated between said inflated balloon and said prostate tissue being squeezed and compressed so as thereby to increase the minimum distance between said microwave antenna means situated inside of said balloon and heated tissue of said patient; and
means for inflating said balloon to said given pressure;
whereby the maximum microwave power may be increased without exceeding said given maximum safe temperature and the temperature differential between the heated prostate tissue more proximate to said microwave antenna means and the heated prostate tissue more distal to said microwave antenna means is reduced.
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Abstract
Applying squeezing pressure to a diseased prostate, by means of a urethral and/or rectal catheter incorporating an inflatable prostate balloon, to compress the prostate while it is being irradiated from a microwave antenna, increases the therapeutic temperature to which the prostate tissue more distal to the microwave antenna can be heated without heating any non-prostate tissue beyond a maximum safe temperature, and reduces the temperature differential between the heated more distal and more proximate prostate tissue from the microwave antenna.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. In a catheter adapted to be inserted into an orifice of a male patient for treating prostate disease, wherein said catheter comprises means including microwave antenna means for irradiating said patient'"'"'s prostate with a given distribution of microwave field intensity, thereby to heat tissue of said patient to a temperature which tends to vary as a direct function of microwave power and as an inverse function of the distance of that tissue to said microwave antenna means, and wherein the maximum microwave power to be employed is limited to an amount at which the temperature of the patient'"'"'s heated tissue most proximate to said microwave antenna means does not exceed a given safe maximum temperature;
- the improvement wherein said catheter further comprises;
an inflatable balloon inside of which said microwave antenna means is situated, said balloon being structured to have a cross-section which is expandable in size from a first value no larger than the cross-section of said orifice when said balloon is deflated to a second value substantially larger than the cross-section of said orifice when said balloon is inflated to a given pressure, said given pressure being sufficient to squeeze and compress tissue of said patient adjacent said balloon and permit the size of said balloon cross-section to be expanded to its second value; whereby said catheter may be (1) inserted into said orifice while in a deflated state and positioned therein at a location at which both said balloon and said microwave antenna means are in cooperative relationship with said patient'"'"'s prostate for effecting the irradiation of said patient'"'"'s prostate with said given distribution of microwave field intensity when said catheter is fully inserted into said orifice, and (2) said balloon may be inflated to said given pressure when said catheter is fully inserted for expanding the size of its cross-section to said second value, resulting in both prostate tissue and that non-prostate tissue situated between said inflated balloon and said prostate tissue being squeezed and compressed so as thereby to increase the minimum distance between said microwave antenna means situated inside of said balloon and heated tissue of said patient; and means for inflating said balloon to said given pressure; whereby the maximum microwave power may be increased without exceeding said given maximum safe temperature and the temperature differential between the heated prostate tissue more proximate to said microwave antenna means and the heated prostate tissue more distal to said microwave antenna means is reduced. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- the improvement wherein said catheter further comprises;
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12. A method for treating prostate disease of a patient;
- said method comprising the steps of;
applying sufficient squeezing pressure to non-prostate tissue which surrounds an orifice of the patient in the vicinity of the patient'"'"'s prostate both to compress the prostate and non-prostate tissue and to increase the distance from a given location within said orifice to said non-prostate tissue; and while said pressure is being applied, irradiating said prostate through said non-prostate tissue from said given location within said orifice with microwave power sufficient to heat that prostate tissue which is more distal to said orifice to a first therapeutic temperature without heating any non-prostate tissue of the patient above a maximum safe temperature. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
- said method comprising the steps of;
Specification