Tissue ablation apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A tissue-ablation apparatus comprising:
- (a) an elongate delivery device having a lumen terminating at a distal end,(b) a plurality of electrodes carried in said device for movement between retracted positions at which the electrodes are disposed within the device'"'"'s lumen, and deployed positions at which the electrodes define a tissue volume, said electrodes being operatively connected to a power source for producing ablation within said volume in response to power supplied from the power source to said electrodes,(c) a plurality of passive elongate sensor elements carried in said device for movement between retracted positions at which the sensor elements are disposed within the device'"'"'s lumen, and deployed positions at which the sensor elements are deployed from said distal end at a plurality of angularly spaced positions at which the deployed sensor elements are distributed within said volume, said sensor elements being unable to deliver ablative energy, and(d) at least one sensor positioned on each of the elongate sensor elements for monitoring tissue ablation in said volume,wherein the supply of power to said electrodes can be regulated to control a level and extent of tissue ablation throughout said volume according to the tissue ablation monitored by said sensors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tissue-ablation method and apparatus are disclosed. The apparatus includes a plurality of RF ablation electrodes, and a plurality of sensor elements, each movable from retracted to deployed positions in a tissue to be ablated. A control device in the apparatus is operatively connected to the electrodes for supplying an RF power to the electrodes, to produce tissue ablation that advances from individual-electrode ablation regions to fill a combined-electrode ablation volume. The control device is operatively connected to the sensor elements for determining the extent of ablation in the regions of the sensor elements. The supply of RF power to the electrodes can thus be regulated to control the level and extent of tissue ablation throughout the combined-electrode volume. The electrodes are preferably hollow-needle electrodes through which liquid can be infused into the tissue, also under the control of the control unit, to modulate and optimize tissue ablation.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A tissue-ablation apparatus comprising:
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(a) an elongate delivery device having a lumen terminating at a distal end, (b) a plurality of electrodes carried in said device for movement between retracted positions at which the electrodes are disposed within the device'"'"'s lumen, and deployed positions at which the electrodes define a tissue volume, said electrodes being operatively connected to a power source for producing ablation within said volume in response to power supplied from the power source to said electrodes, (c) a plurality of passive elongate sensor elements carried in said device for movement between retracted positions at which the sensor elements are disposed within the device'"'"'s lumen, and deployed positions at which the sensor elements are deployed from said distal end at a plurality of angularly spaced positions at which the deployed sensor elements are distributed within said volume, said sensor elements being unable to deliver ablative energy, and (d) at least one sensor positioned on each of the elongate sensor elements for monitoring tissue ablation in said volume, wherein the supply of power to said electrodes can be regulated to control a level and extent of tissue ablation throughout said volume according to the tissue ablation monitored by said sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A tissue-ablation apparatus for connection a power source comprising:
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(a) an elongate delivery device having a lumen terminating at a distal end, (b) a plurality of electrodes carried in said device for movement between retracted positions at which the electrodes are disposed within the device'"'"'s lumen, and deployed positions at which the deployed electrodes define a tissue volume, said electrodes being connected to said power for producing ablation within said volume in response to power supplied from the power source to said electrodes, (c) a plurality of passive elongate sensor elements carried in said device for movement between retracted positions at which the sensor elements are disposed within the device'"'"'s lumen, and deployed positions at which the sensor elements are deployed from said distal end at a plurality of angularly spaced positions at which the deployed sensor elements are distributed within said volume, said sensor elements being unable to deliver ablative energy, and (d) at least one sensor positioned on each of the elongate sensor elements for monitoring tissue ablation in said volume, said sensors being connected to said power source, wherein the supply of power to said electrodes from said power source can be regulated to control a level and extent of tissue ablation throughout said volume according to the tissue ablation monitored by said sensors.
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Specification