Thermal therapy with tissue protection

Abstract

A thermotherapy device for treatment of diseased biological tissues includes an outer lumen and at least one inner lumen. Preheating of non-target tissue is carried out during a desensitizing mode of the thermotherapy process at a temperature that is sublethal to cells of the non-target tissue structure but is high enough to provoke the building of heat shock proteins for protecting non-target tissue structures during the thermotherapy process. Then during a destructive mode of the thermotherapy process, an energy source is insertable into one of the lumens in carry out a heating protocol to treat the enlarged tissue while the non-target tissue is protected by shock proteins produced during the desensitizing mode of the process. The energy source can be microwave, ultrasound or other energy source, and a temperature sensing device can be used in controlling the energy source for effective treatment.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.