US 9,872,717 B2 · Balloon catheter with flexible electrode assemblies

Abstract

In some implementations, a method of ablating body tissue includes (a) locating an inflatable balloon portion of a cryotherapy balloon catheter at a treatment site internal to a patient's body, and inflating the inflatable balloon portion; (b) employing electrodes that are disposed on an expandable surface of the inflatable balloon portion to electrically characterize body tissue at the treatment site; (c) ablating the body tissue by supplying a cryotherapy agent to the inflatable balloon portion to cool the body tissue to a therapeutic temperature; (d) employing the electrodes to determine whether the ablating caused desired electrical changes in the body tissue; and (e) repeating (c) and (d) when it is determined that the ablating did not cause the desired electrical changes.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A device, comprising:

a catheter having a distal end, a proximal end and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween;
a balloon coupled to the distal end of the catheter;
and
a plurality of separate flexible electrode assemblies circumferentially spaced apart from each other and attached to an outer surface of the balloon, each electrode assembly comprising a flexible sheet, first and second conductor layers extending longitudinally along opposing first and second surfaces of the flexible sheet, and first and second insulator layers disposed over at least a portion of the first and second conductor layers, respectively;
wherein at least one of the flexible electrode assemblies includes a first electrode formed by an opening in the first insulator layer and a second electrode formed by an opening in the second insulator layer, wherein the first and second electrodes are spaced apart longitudinally from each other.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

14/747,702Filed 23 Jun 2015 · continuation

Priority

27 May 2008

Published

US 2015/0282859 A18 Oct 2015

Granted

23 Jan 2018

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

A61B 18/02
Surgical instruments, devices or methods for transferring non-mechanical forms of energy to or from the body: by cooling, e.g. cryogenic techniques
A61B 5/287
Invasive: holders for multiple electrodes, e.g. electrode catheters for electrophysiological study [EPS]
A61B 2018/00017
With fluids: with gas
A61B 2018/00023
With fluids: closed, i.e. without wound contact by the fluid

Family

Application12/127,287Parent of this continuation · filed 27 May 2008

Application13/413,533Parent of this continuation · filed 6 Mar 2012

US 8,128,617 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 6 Mar 2012

US 9,060,756 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 23 Jun 2015

US 2015/0282859 A1Pre-grant publication · published 8 Oct 2015

US 2009/0299355 A1Published application

US 2012/0165803 A1Published application

US 9,872,717 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Balloon catheter with flexible electrode assemblies

Life of this patent

Balloon catheter with flexible electrode assemblies

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16