US 8,075,556 B2Granted

High frequency epidural neuromodulation catheter for effectuating RF treatment in spinal canal and method of using same

OwnerAndres Bettsinventor

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Abstract

A catheter apparatus includes a hollow needle having an open, sharpened tip at its distal end. A cannula is telescopically disposed within the needle. The cannula has a closed, blunt tip at its distal end, a hollow lumen, and an open proximal end. The cannula is made of a flexible metal material and has an insulating material covering except at its distal portion defining the distal end. A metallic wire capable of transmitting radio frequency (RF) energy is telescopically disposed within the cannula. The cannula lumen has a seating surface for accommodating the distal end of the wire. The cannula distal end is capable of extending beyond the needle so that the blunt tip may be seated in a critical treatment region in a patient's spinal canal without damaging any nerves. A method of treating a patient's pain includes a step of inserting the catheter apparatus into a critical treatment region in the spinal canal of the patient. Once the needle is located near the treatment region, the cannula is advanced until the blunt tip extends beyond the needle's distal end. RF energy is then transmitted through the wire, the cannula's blunt tip, and to the treatment region.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A catheter delivery device to transmit radiofrequency energy to a spinal canal, comprising:

a needle having an open proximal end and an open distal end, and a lumen that extends from the open proximal end to the open distal end;
a catheter having a blunt, metallic tip on a distal end of the catheter that transmits a radio frequency energy to the treatment site, wherein the catheter is telescopically disposed within the needle lumen to allow the tip to be maneuverably positioned within the spinal canal;
a catheter hub coupled to a proximal end of the catheter
a metallic wire element telescopically disposed within a lumen of the catheter;
and
an adapter hub coupled to a proximal end of the wire element, wherein the adapter hub is cooperatively engageable to the catheter hub to form a single shaft,
wherein a proximal end of the adapter hub is configured couple to a radio frequency generating device, and wherein the adapter hub and the catheter hub are sized and dimensioned relative to one another such that engagement of the adapter hub to the catheter hub allows a distal end of the wire element to touch a seating surface of the tip such that the wire element delivers a radio frequency energy from the radio frequency generating device to the tip.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/752,210Filed 22 May 2007 · us provisional application
Priority: 23 May 2006
Published: US 2007/0276319 A129 Nov 2007
Granted: 13 Dec 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

A61B 18/1477
Probes or electrodes therefor: needle-like probes
A61B 18/148
Probes or electrodes therefor: having a short, rigid shaft for accessing the inner body transcutaneously, e.g. for neurosurgery or arthroscopy
A61B 18/1492
Probes or electrodes therefor: having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation
A61B 2018/00083
Electrical conductivity: low, i.e. electrically insulating