System for simultaneous unipolar multi-electrode ablation
US6346104B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 22, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 12, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 22, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2018/1467
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system (2,4), method and splitter (6) for ablating tissue (15) using radiofrequency (RF) energy is disclosed. The system (2,4) ablates tissue (15) using unipolar RF energy simultaneously delivered to multiple electrodes (22A-22D) in one or more probes (20). This is carried out by the multiple channel RF splitter (6) that can independently control the RP energy delivered through each channel (18) to a respective electrode (22A-22D) in a continuous manner. Each electrode (22A-22D) has a corresponding temperature sensor or transducer (36A-36D) that is processed independently so that the amount of RF energy delivered to each electrode (22A-22D) can be varied dependent on the temperature of the electrode (22A-22D) so that the lesion size produced by each electrode (22A-22D) can be accurately controlled. Preferably, each probe (20) has a needle-like structure with a number of electrodes (22A-22D) separated by insulative material and is adapted to puncture tissue. Each channel (18) of the splitter (6) has circuitry for interrupting current delivered to the respective channel if a predetermined temperature or current level is exceeded.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.