Ultrasound-guided ablation catheter and methods of use
First Claim
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1. A tissue ablation apparatus, comprising:
- a flexible elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end;
a plurality of spaced apart electrodes operably attached to said flexible body near said distal end; and
a plurality of transducer elements disposed between at least some of said electrodes;
wherein said electrodes and said transducer elements are operably attached to said flexible body in an alternating fashion; and
wherein the number of said transducer elements exceeds the number of said electrodes by at least one.
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Abstract
The present invention provides ultrasound-guided ablation catheters and methods for their use. In one embodiment, a tissue ablation apparatus (2) includes a flexible elongate body (12) having proximal (14) and distal (12) ends. A plurality of spaced-apart electrodes (24) are operably attached to the flexible body near the distal end. A plurality of transducer elements (28) are disposed between at least some of the electrodes. Transducers assist the physician in determining whether or not the ablation elements are in contact with the tissue to be ablated.
270 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A tissue ablation apparatus, comprising:
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a flexible elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end;
a plurality of spaced apart electrodes operably attached to said flexible body near said distal end; and
a plurality of transducer elements disposed between at least some of said electrodes;
wherein said electrodes and said transducer elements are operably attached to said flexible body in an alternating fashion; and
wherein the number of said transducer elements exceeds the number of said electrodes by at least one. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of ablating tissue comprising:
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providing a tissue ablation apparatus, said apparatus comprising a flexible elongate body, a plurality of electrodes and a plurality of transducer elements, said electrodes and said transducer elements being operably attached to said body in an alternating fashion so that said electrodes each have at least one of said plurality of transducer elements located distal thereto and at least one of said plurality of transducer elements located proximal thereto, said electrodes and said transducer elements being in electrical communication with a controller;
inserting said ablation apparatus into a patient;
positioning said ablation apparatus within said patient so that said ablation apparatus is proximate a tissue to be ablated;
energizing said transducer elements;
receiving a plurality of reflected signals from said transducer elements;
processing said reflected signals with said controller to determine if said transducer elements are in contact with said tissue to be ablated; and
activating at least one of said electrodes to ablate said tissue if said controller determines that said transducer elements adjacent to said at least one electrode in the proximal and distal directions are in contact with said tissue. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification