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US 2006/0079883 A1Published application
Transurethral needle ablation system
AssigneeMedtronic, Inc.
InventorsAhmed Elmouelhi, Mark Christopherson, John Swoyer, Shahn Sage
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Abstract
A one-piece, single-use disposable device for transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) of prostate tissue to alleviate BPH is disclosed. The device may include a flexible catheter tip including a rigid core and a flexible tip. The device may also include a single use lockout to help ensure that the device is used to perform only one ablation procedure on a single patient. The device may further include a simplified needle deployment mechanism and/or an automatic needle retraction mechanism.
Claims8
A transurethral ablation device, comprising:
- a transurethral catheter;
- at least one ablation needle extendable from the distal end of the catheter to penetrate prostate tissue of a patient and to deliver ablation energy to the prostate tissue, wherein an insulative sheath surrounds the needle;
- and
- a needle deployment mechanism to advance the needles out of the distal end of the catheter, the needle deployment mechanism comprising:
- a lever actuatable by a physician;
- a needle block to advance the needle to a desired needle depth in response to actuation of the lever;
- a sheath block to advance the sheath to a first predetermined sheath depth in response to actuation of the lever;
- a spring connected to retract the sheath block after advancement of the needle to a predetermined needle depth, such that the sheath is retracted to a second predetermined sheath depth;
- a catch positioned to maintain a fixed position of the sheath block such that the second predetermined sheath depth is maintained.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.