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AssigneeEthicon, Inc.
InventorsThomas P. Ryan, John S. Crombie
Estimating the term…
An apparatus for sterilizing a female patient in a transcervical procedure comprises an elongated catheter with a piezoelectric ultrasound transducer at its distal end. The catheter is inserted transcervically into the uterus and guided to the intramural region of a fallopian tube. The transducer is inserted into the intramural region in direct contact with the surrounding tissue. The transducer produces a radially dispersing acoustical wave front, heating the adjacent tissue and forming a thermal lesion therein. A fibrous tissue forms during the healing process, sealing the fallopian tube. An embodiment of the apparatus includes a movable thermal sensor for monitoring the tissue temperature at multiple locations along the lesion. Another embodiment of the apparatus includes a spring that centers the distal end of the catheter at the opening of the fallopian tube and provides a tactile means to determine that the catheter and transducer have been correctly positioned.
Apparatus adapted for use in forming a thermal lesion in a fallopian tube of a patient, comprising a catheter having a distal end section, said distal section including generating means for generating an ultrasound acoustical wave front radiating therefrom, said generating means being sized and shaped so as to be inserted into a fallopian tube of a patient for forming a thermal lesion in the fallopian tube by the application of an ultrasound acoustical wave front generated by said generating means, said generating means including an outer surface such that, when said generating means is inserted into the fallopian tube, said outer surface comes in direct contact with a surrounding tissue of the fallopian tube, whereby the acoustical wave front can be applied directly to the surrounding tissue from said-generating means.
Apparatus adapted for use in forming a thermal lesion in a fallopian tube of a patient, comprising a catheter having a distal end section and a passageway extending therethrough, said distal section including generating means for generating an ultrasound acoustical wave front radiating therefrom, said generating means being sized and shaped so as to be inserted into a fallopian tube of a patient for forming a thermal lesion in the fallopian tube by the application of an ultrasound acoustical wave front generated by said generating means;
Apparatus adapted for use in forming a thermal lesion in a fallopian tube of a patient, comprising a catheter having a distal end section, said distal section including generating means for generating an ultrasound acoustical wave front radiating therefrom, said generating means being sized and shaped so as to be inserted into a fallopian tube of a patient for forming a thermal lesion in the fallopian tube by the application of an ultrasound acoustical wave front generated by said generating means;
A method for performing transcervical sterilization on a patient, comprising the steps of providing a catheter having a distal end section which includes generating means for generating an ultrasound acoustical wave front radiating therefrom, said generating means including an electrically conductive outer surface;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.