Method for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia with thermal therapy
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
- inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra;
heating a volume of tissue within the prostate, excluding tissue adjacent the rectal wall, with continuously applied microwave energy from the microwave antenna to temperatures of at least 45°
C. up to a distance of at least 2 centimeters from the wall of the urethra for a time period sufficient to destroy substantially the entire volume of tissue while cooling the urethra.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for treating an individual with diseased prostatic tissue, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia, includes inserting a catheter into a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent a prostatic region of the urethra. A microwave antenna is then driven within a power range for applying microwave energy substantially continuously to prostatic tissue to heat the prostatic tissue surrounding the microwave antenna at a temperature and for a time period sufficient to cause necrosis of the prostatic tissue.
194 Citations
36 Claims
-
1. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; heating a volume of tissue within the prostate, excluding tissue adjacent the rectal wall, with continuously applied microwave energy from the microwave antenna to temperatures of at least 45°
C. up to a distance of at least 2 centimeters from the wall of the urethra for a time period sufficient to destroy substantially the entire volume of tissue while cooling the urethra. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; circulating a fluid within the catheter to cool the urethra; and applying power to the microwave antenna continuously within a power range and for a time period sufficient to substantially destroy a volume of tissue within the prostate up to at least 1.8 centimeters from the wall of the urethra while cooling the urethra during the application of power and while maintaining a temperature of the rectum below 42°
C.
-
-
7. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; cooling the urethra with the catheter; applying power in increasing levels to the microwave antenna until predetermined criteria are met while continuing to cool the urethra; and maintaining power applied to the microwave antenna within a desired power range which causes heating within the prostate to a temperature of at least 45°
C. up to at least 2 centimeters from the wall of the urethra for a time sufficient to necrose prostatic tissue while continuing to cool the urethra to prevent necrosis of the urethra. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method for treating an individual with benign prostatic hyperplasia, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter into a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; cooling the urethra with the catheter; applying power in increasing levels to the microwave antenna until predetermined criteria are met while continuing to cool the urethra; maintaining power applied to the microwave antenna within a range which causes substantially continuous heating of tissue within the prostate to a temperature of at least 45°
C. at a distance of at least 2 centimeters from the urethra while continuing to cool the urethra; andcooling the urethra after discontinuing power.
-
-
22. A method for treating an individual with benign prostatic hyperplasia, the method comprising:
-
measuring a temperature of a rectum; inserting a catheter into a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; cooling the urethra with the catheter to maintain the urethra at a non-necrotic temperature; applying power in a microwave frequency range to the microwave antenna until an urethral catheter temperature is within a predetermined range so that a portion of the prostate surrounding the microwave antenna reaches a temperature of at least 45°
C. at a distance of up to 2 centimeters from the urethra;adjusting the power level to continuously maintain the catheter temperature within the predetermined temperature range for a predetermined period of time and to maintain the rectal temperature below a predetermined temperature so that the portion of the prostate is maintained at a substantially continuous temperature of at least 45°
C. at a distance of up to 2 centimeters from the urethra for a time sufficient to necrose the portion of the prostate;decreasing the power applied to the microwave antenna to zero watts; and cooling the urethra with the catheter after decreasing the power. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. A method for treating an individual with benign prostatic hyperplasia, the method comprising:
-
inserting a thermal sensing device into a rectum of the patient measuring a rectal temperature; inserting a catheter into a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; circulating a fluid within the catheter between the microwave antenna and the urethra wherein the fluid stabilizes at a temperature of less than 10°
C. to maintain the urethra adjacent the antenna at a temperature below 45°
C.;measuring a temperature of the urethral catheter with a thermosensing device positioned within the urethral catheter adjacent the prostate; driving the microwave antenna at a signal in the range of 902 to 928 MHz and a power of 10 watts to apply a MW emission to a portion of the prostate surrounding the urethral catheter, the MW emission causing molecular excitation of the portion of the prostate surrounding the microwave antenna; increasing the drive signal applied to the microwave antenna in increments of five watts every two minutes until at least one of the following conditions is achieved;
the urethral catheter temperature is at least 35°
C.; and
the rectal catheter temperature is about 40°
C.;increasing the drive signal in increments of 1 watts per minute until the urethral catheter temperature is within 1°
C. of 40°
C. so that the portion of the prostate surrounding the microwave antenna reaches a temperature of at least 45°
C.;adjusting the drive signal in one watt increments per minute to maintain the urethral catheter temperature within 1°
C. of 40°
C. and maintaining the drive signal at this level for at least 45°
C. up to 60 minutes from the time the urethral catheter temperature first reaches 37°
C. so that the portion of the prostate is necrosed by being maintained continuously at a temperature of at least 45°
C. at distances of at least 2 centimeters from the urethra within the prostate along the length of the microwave antenna;decreasing the drive signal in increments of one watt per minute if the rectal temperature reaches 42°
C. until the rectal temperature is less than 42°
C. and then increasing the drive signal in increments of one watt per minute until the urethral catheter temperature is within 1°
C. of 40°
C. and the rectal catheter temperature is less than 42°
C.;decreasing the drive signal to a power level of zero watts; and maintaining circulation of fluid within the urethral catheter between the microwave antenna and the urethra at a temperature of 10°
C. or less for at least ten minutes after discontinuing power applied to the microwave antenna.
-
-
31. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; circulating a fluid within the catheter to cool the urethra; and applying power to the microwave antenna within a power range without discontinuing power and for a time period sufficient to cause necrosis of tissue within the prostate at a distance of at least 1.8 centimeters from the urethra while preventing necrosis of the urethra by cooling the urethra during the application of power.
-
-
32. A method for treating prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a energy producing source within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; heating a volume of tissue within the prostate, excluding tissue adjacent the rectal wall, with continuously applied energy from the energy producing source to temperatures of at least 45°
C. up to at least 2 centimeters from a wall of the urethra for a time sufficient to destroy substantially the entire volume of tissue while cooling the urethra. - View Dependent Claims (33)
-
-
34. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; circulating a fluid between the microwave antenna and the urethra; and applying power continuously to the microwave antenna within a power range and for a time period sufficient to destroy substantially an entire volume of tissue within the prostate up to a distance of at least 1.8 centimeters from a wall of the urethra while cooling the urethra during the application of power.
-
-
35. A method for treating a target tissue comprising:
-
inserting a probe within a body conduit to position an energy producing source within the probe adjacent to a target tissue located adjacent the body conduit; heating a volume of the target tissue with continuously applied energy from the energy producing source to temperatures of at least 45°
C. up to at least 2 centimeters from a wall of the body conduit for a time sufficient to destroy substantially the entire volume of targeted tissue while cooling the body conduit.
-
-
36. A method for treating an individual with prostatic tissue disease, the method comprising:
-
inserting a catheter within a urethra to position a microwave antenna located within the catheter adjacent to a prostate surrounding the urethra; heating tissue within the prostate with continuously applied microwave energy from the microwave antenna to temperatures of at least 45°
C. at a distance of at least 2 centimeters from a wall of the urethra for a time sufficient to cause necrosis within the prostate without causing necrosis of tissue outside the prostate while cooling the urethra.
-
Specification