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US 5,100,388 AGranted
Method and device for thermal ablation of hollow body organs
AssigneeInterventional Thermodynamics, Inc.
InventorsRobert S. Behl, Colin J. Nichols
Life of this patent
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AssigneeInterventional Thermodynamics, Inc.
InventorsRobert S. Behl, Colin J. Nichols
Estimating the term…
Hollow body organs, such as the gallbladder, may be ablated by introducing a substantially unheated thermally conductive medium to the interior of the organ. The thermally conductive medium is then heated to a temperature sufficient to necrose the endothelial lining or mucous membrane of the organ. After the lining or membrane has necrosed, the interior of the organ will fibrose over time and the organ will eventually be resorbed by the body. A catheter useful in performing the ablation method comprises an elongate member having a heating element at its distal tip. The catheter will include at least one lumen for delivering the thermally conductive medium to the interior of the hollow body organ, and the heating means is used to raise the temperature of the thermally conductive medium after it has been delivered. Optionally, the catheter may include one or more inflatable balloons which facilitate sealing of the hollow body organ to inhibit leakage of the thermally conductive medium during the treatment process. The heating element may comprise a single point heat source or a heat source distributed over a fixed length. Distributed heat sources may further be adapted to provide for a non-linear heat flux delivery pattern.
A thermal ablation catheter, said catheter comprising:
A thermal ablation catheter comprising:
A thermal ablation catheter, said catheter comprising:
A catheter as in claim 47, wherein the elongate member is flexible.
A catheter as in claim 49, wherein the convective heating element is a resistive heating element and the means for raising the surface temperature includes circuitry for supplying current to the resistive heating element.
A catheter as in claim 49, wherein the convective heating element is a heat conductive block and the means for raising the surface temperature includes an optical waveguide for supplying radiation to heat the block.
A catheter as in claim 47, wherein the means for heating includes a radiofrequency generator.
A catheter as in claim 47, further comprising a cage surrounding the means for heating to prevent direct contact of the means for heating with the interior of a hollow body organ while allowing substantially unrestricted exposure of the means for heating to the surrounding fluid environment.
A catheter as in claim 47, further comprising first means at the distal end for sealing a duct which could otherwise drain fluid from the hollow body organ.
A catheter as in claim 56, wherein the sealing means is an inflatable balloon and the catheter further comprises a means on the elongate member for selectively inflating said balloon.
A catheter as in claim 58, further comprising means for heating an inflation medium within the inflatable balloon.
A catheter as in claim 47, further comprising means for aspirating fluid from the fluid environment surrounding the distal end of the elongate member.
A thermal ablation catheter, said catheter comprising:
A method for ablating a hollow body organ having at least one connecting duct, said method comprising the following steps performed in a predetermined order:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.