Tunable Microwave Ablation Probe

An ablation probe, comprising:

• an inner conductor;
• a dielectric coaxially-disposed around the inner conductor;
• an outer conductor coaxially-disposed around the dielectric, wherein the dielectric and the inner conductor extend distally from the outer conductor;
• a barrel coaxially-disposed about the outer conductor and movable along a longitudinal axis thereof, the barrel including an exterior threaded portion;
• an adjustment collar rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and having an interior threaded portion adapted to cooperatively engage the exterior threaded portion of the barrel;
• a helical antenna element coaxially-disposed about the distal extension of the dielectric and coupled at a distal end thereof to the inner conductor and coupled at a proximal end thereof to the barrel, wherein the helical antenna element is operable to change from a first configuration to a second configuration when the adjustment collar is rotated.

A method for tuning an ablation probe, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an ablation probe comprising:
• an inner conductor;
• a dielectric coaxially-disposed around the inner conductor;
• an outer conductor coaxially-disposed around the dielectric, wherein the dielectric and the inner conductor extend distally from the outer conductor;
• a helical antenna element coaxially-disposed about the distal extension of the dielectric and coupled at a distal end thereof to the inner conductor;
• and
• causing at least one dimension of the helical antenna element to change.