Pump and cassette system for use in microwave ablation

Inventors: Steve Jester (Eden Prairie, MN); Paul Joseph Hattan (Minneapolis, MN); Tim Bachman (Saint Paul, MN); Matt Goulet (Palo Alto, CA); Logan Ernster (Palo Alto, CA); Charlie Weber (Palo Alto, CA); Jonathan Nath (Palo Alto, CA)

Assignee: Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

F04B43/12 A61B18/1815 A61B2018/00023 A61B2018/00577

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12692856
App. No.: 18/477,328
Granted: Jul 28, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

An apparatus for cooling an ablation probe includes a cassette receptacle configured to accept a cassette including a supply tube for supplying a coolant to the ablation probe. The apparatus also includes a pump head movably positioned proximate the cassette receptacle. The pump head is configured to move between a loading position and an operating position. The pump head includes one or more rollers configured to engage the supply tube of the cassette when the pump head is in the operating position. The apparatus also includes an actuator coupled to the pump head. The actuator is configured to move the pump head between the loading position and the operating position.

Claims (25)

1 . An apparatus comprising:

a cassette receptacle configured to accept a cassette including a supply tube for supplying a coolant to an ablation probe;

a pump head movably positioned proximate the cassette receptacle and configured to move between a loading position and an operating position, the pump head comprising one or more rollers configured to engage the supply tube of the cassette when the pump head is in the operating position; and

an actuator coupled to the pump head, the actuator configured to move the pump head between the loading position and the operating position; and

a first arm and a second arm each connected to the pump head at a first end and having a common rotational axis at a second end, wherein the actuator is positioned between the common rotational axis and the pump head, and wherein the actuator is configured to move the first arm and the second arm in a first direction and in a second direction opposite the first direction that, in turn, causes movement of the pump head in at least one of the first direction and the second direction.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a front face, wherein the cassette receptacle is positioned in the front face and configured to accept the cassette in a loading direction.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first direction and the second direction are orthogonal to the loading direction.

4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the loading direction is a horizontal direction and each of the first direction and the second direction are vertical directions.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

the actuator comprises a spring and a stepper motor; and

the spring is configured to apply a predetermined force to the supply tube via the pump head when the stepper motor moves the pump head to the operating position.

6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined force may be adjusted using the motor to compress the spring to a corresponding predetermined compression value.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an occlusion plate positioned in the cassette receptacle.

8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the occlusion plate comprises an upward-facing concave shape.

9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the occlusion plate is stationary.

10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising the cassette.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the cassette comprises a case and the case defines an opening, the supply tube extending across the opening.

12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the cassette comprises a chamber positioned inside a case, the chamber fluidly connected to the supply tube, the chamber configured to dampen pressure oscillations during operation of the pump head.

13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein an inlet to the chamber is positioned vertically above an outlet of the chamber.

14 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the cassette comprises one or more magnets configured to retain the cassette in a desired position in the cassette receptacle.

15 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a retainer is coupled to the pump head and configured to move with the pump head when the pump head is moved from the loading position to the operating position, the retainer configured to engage and retain the cassette in the cassette receptacle when the pump head is in the operating position.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein a case of the cassette defines an opening to receive the retainer when the pump head is in the operating position.

17 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the supply tube of the cassette is fluidly coupled to a coolant flow path configured to move thermal energy away from a microwave ablation probe.

18 . The apparatus of claim 10 comprising an ablation probe assembly, wherein the cassette is part of the ablation probe assembly, the ablation probe assembly comprising a cable and the ablation probe.

19 . The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising one or more microwave generators and a microwave ablation probe, wherein the one or more microwave generators are configured to deliver a microwave signal to the microwave ablation probe.