Systems and methods for seeking sub-surface temperature conditions during tissue ablation
First Claim
1. A system for ablating body tissue comprisingan ablation electrode having a thermal mass, the ablation electrode having a tissue contact region for contacting a tissue surface, the ablation electrode adapted to be connected to a source of radio frequency energy to conduct radio frequency energy for transmission by the ablation electrode into the tissue surface contacting the tissue contact region, the ablation electrode including an interior well in the tissue contact region,a tissue temperature sensing assembly carried within the interior well comprising a temperature sensor, a cap enclosing the temperature sensor, the cap being made of a thermal conductive material, which is in thermal conductive contact with the temperature sensor, the thermal conductive material having a thermal conductivity that is at least 1.0 W/m K, and an insulating barrier made of thermal insulating material in the interior well to substantially thermally isolate the cap from the thermal mass of the ablation electrode, the cap having a distal end,a mechanism attached to the cap to selectively move the cap in the interior well to locate the distal end of the cap beyond the tissue contact region of the ablation electrode and into thermal conductive contact with tissue at different distances beneath the tissue surface, the thermal conductive material of the cap reaching thermal equilibrium with tissue temperature conditions without dissipation by the termal mass of the ablation electrode, anda controller coupled to the mechanism and to the temperature sensor to control movement of the cap in the interior well based, at least in part, upon tissue temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for ablating body tissue use an ablation element for contacting tissue to form a tissue interface. The ablation element is adapted to be connected to a source of ablation energy to conduct ablation energy for transmission by the ablation element into tissue at the tissue interface. The systems and methods include a tissue temperature sensing element held in a carrier in thermal conductive contact with tissue beneath the tissue interface. A mechanism attached to the carrier selectively advances the carrier relative to the ablation element to different depths beneath the tissue interface. A controller is coupled to the mechanism and to the tissue temperature sensing element to control advancement of the carrier beneath the tissue interface based, at least in part, upon tissue temperatures sensed by the sensing element beneath the tissue interface. Preferably, the controller controls the mechanism to locate the sensing element at the depth where the hottest sensed tissue temperature exists.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for ablating body tissue comprising
an ablation electrode having a thermal mass, the ablation electrode having a tissue contact region for contacting a tissue surface, the ablation electrode adapted to be connected to a source of radio frequency energy to conduct radio frequency energy for transmission by the ablation electrode into the tissue surface contacting the tissue contact region, the ablation electrode including an interior well in the tissue contact region, a tissue temperature sensing assembly carried within the interior well comprising a temperature sensor, a cap enclosing the temperature sensor, the cap being made of a thermal conductive material, which is in thermal conductive contact with the temperature sensor, the thermal conductive material having a thermal conductivity that is at least 1.0 W/m K, and an insulating barrier made of thermal insulating material in the interior well to substantially thermally isolate the cap from the thermal mass of the ablation electrode, the cap having a distal end, a mechanism attached to the cap to selectively move the cap in the interior well to locate the distal end of the cap beyond the tissue contact region of the ablation electrode and into thermal conductive contact with tissue at different distances beneath the tissue surface, the thermal conductive material of the cap reaching thermal equilibrium with tissue temperature conditions without dissipation by the termal mass of the ablation electrode, and a controller coupled to the mechanism and to the temperature sensor to control movement of the cap in the interior well based, at least in part, upon tissue temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap.
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9. A system for ablating body tissue comprising
a generator for supplying radio frequency ablation energy, an electrode having a thermal mass, the ablation electrode having a tissue contact region for contacting a tissue surface, the electrode and the generator being coupled to conduct radio frequency ablation energy for transmission by the electrode into the tissue surface contacting the tissue contact region, the ablation electrode including an interior well in the tissue contact region, a tissue temperature sensing assembly carried within the interior well comprising a temperature sensor, a cap enclosing the temperature sensor, the cap being made of a thermal conductive material, which is in thermal conductive contact with the temperature sensor, the thermal conductive material having a thermal conductivity that is at least 1.0 W/m K, and an insulating barrier made of thermal insulating material in the interior well to substantially thermally isolate the cap from the thermal mass of the ablation electrode, the cap having a distal end, a mechanism attached to the cap to selectively move the cap in the interior well to locate the distal end of the cap beyond the tissue contact region of the electrode and into thermal conductive contact with tissue at different distances beneath the tissue surface, the thermal conductive material of the cap reaching thermal equilibrium with tissue temperature conditions without dissipation by the termal mass of the ablation electrode, a first controller coupled to the mechanism and to the temperature sensor to control movement of the cap in the interior well based, at least in part, upon tissue temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap, and a second controller coupled to the temperature sensor and to the generator to control the supply of radio frequency ablation energy based, at least in part, upon temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap.
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10. A system for ablating body tissue comprising
a generator for supplying radio frequency ablation energy, an electrode having a thermal mass, the ablation electrode having a tissue contact region for contacting a tissue surface, the electrode and the generator being coupled to conduct radio frequency ablation energy for transmission by the electrode into the tissue surface contacting the tissue contact region, the ablation electrode including an interior well in the tissue contact region, an element to cool the electrode, a tissue temperature sensing assembly carried within the interior well comprising a temperature sensor, a cap enclosing the temperature sensor, the cap being made of a thermal conductive material, which is in thermal conductive contact with the temperature sensor, the thermal conductive material having a thermal conductivity that is at least 1.0 W/m K, and an insulating barrier made of thermal insulating material in the interior well to substantially thermally isolate the cap from the thermal mass of the ablation electrode, the cap having a distal end, a mechanism attached to the cap to selectively move the cap in the interior well to locate the distal end of the cap beyond the tissue contact region of the electrode and into thermal conductive contact with tissue at different distances beneath the tissue surface, the thermal conductive material of the cap reaching thermal equilibrium with tissue temperature conditions without dissipation by the termal mass of the ablation electrode, a first controller coupled to the mechanism and to the temperature sensor to control movement of the cap in the interior well based, at least in part, upon tissue temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap, and a second controller coupled to the temperature sensor and to the generator to control the supply of radio frequency ablation energy based, at least in part, upon temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap.
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11. A system for ablating body tissue comprising
a generator for supplying radio frequency ablation energy, an electrode having a thermal mass, the ablation electrode having a tissue contact region for contacting a tissue surface, the electrode and the generator being coupled to conduct radio frequency ablation energy for transmission by the electrode into the tissue surface contacting the tissue contact region, the ablation electrode including an interior well in the tissue contact region, an element to cool the electrode, a tissue temperature sensing assembly carried within the interior well comprising a temperature sensor, a cap enclosing the temperature sensor, the cap being made of a thermal conductive material, which is in thermal conductive contact with the temperature sensor, the thermal conductive material having a thermal conductivity that is at least 1.0 W/m K, and an insulating barrier made of thermal insulating material in the interior well to substantially thermally isolate the cap from the thermal mass of the ablation electrode, the cap having a distal end, a mechanism attached to the cap to selectively move the cap in the interior well to locate the distal end of the cap beyond the tissue contact region of the electrode and into thermal conductive contact with tissue at different distances beneath the tissue surface, the thermal conductive material of the cap reaching thermal equilibrium with tissue temperature conditions without dissipation by the termal mass of the ablation electrode, a first controller coupled to the mechanism and to the temperature sensor to control movement of the cap in the interior well based, at least in part, upon tissue temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap, and a second controller coupled to the temperature sensor and to the cooling element to control the cooling of the electrode based, at least in part, upon temperature conditions sensed by the temperature sensor within the cap.
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeEP Technologies Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
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Original AssigneeEP Technologies Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
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InventorsPanescu, Dorin, Bourne, Thomas M.
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Primary Examiner(s)Shay, David M.
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Application NumberUS08/935,281Time in Patent Office890 DaysField of Search606/16, 606/17, 606/24-52, 607/98-109US Class Current606/34CPC Class CodesA61B 18/1206 Generators thereforA61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter...A61B 2017/00084 TemperatureA61B 2017/00243 cardiacA61B 2018/00023 closed, i.e. without wound ...A61B 2018/00029 openA61B 2018/0069 using fuzzy logicA61B 2018/126 bipolarA61B 2018/1861 with an instrument inserted...A61N 1/403 for thermotherapy, e.g. hyp...
