Method and Apparatus for Tissue Ablation
The present invention is directed toward a device that performs ablation of tissue. The device has a catheter with a shaft through which an ablative agent can travel, a first positioning element attached to the catheter shaft at a first position and a second positioning element attached to the catheter shaft at a second position. The shaft also has ports through which the ablative agent can be released.
1 . A device to perform ablation of tissue in a hollow organ, comprising
a. a catheter having a shaft through which an ablative agent can travel;
b. a first positioning element attached to said catheter shaft at a first position, wherein said first positioning element is configured to position said catheter at a predefined distance from the tissue to be ablated; and
c. wherein the shaft comprises one or more port through which said ablative agent can be released out of said shaft.
2 . The device of claim 1 further comprising a second positioning element attached to said catheter shaft at a position different from said first positioning element.
3 . The device of claim 1 wherein the first positioning element is at least one of a conical shape, disc shape, or a free form shape conformed to the shape of the hollow organ.
4 . The device of claim 3 wherein the second positioning element has predefined dimensions and wherein said predefined dimensions are used to determine the dimensions of the hollow organ to be ablated.
5 . The device of claim 1 wherein the first positioning element comprises an insulated membrane wherein said insulated membrane is configured to prevent an escape of thermal energy.
6 . The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one of acoustic, electromagnetic, infrared or radiofrequency energy sensor wherein said sensor is used to measure the dimension of the hollow organ
7 . The device of claim 2 wherein said second positioning element is at least one of a conical shape, disc shape, or a free form shape conformed to the shape of the hollow organ.
8 . The device of claim 7 wherein the second positioning element has predefined dimensions and wherein said predefined dimensions are used to determine the dimensions of the hollow organ to be ablated.
9 . The device of claim 8 wherein the second positioning element has a predefined dimension and wherein said predefined dimension is used to calculate an amount of thermal energy needed to ablate the tissue.
10 . The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one temperature sensor.
11 . The device of claim 10 wherein said temperature sensor is used to control delivery of said ablative agent.
12 . The device of claim 1 wherein said ablative agent is steam.
13 . The device of claim 1 wherein said first positioning element is a covered wire mesh.
14 . The device of claim 1 wherein said first positioning element comprises a circular body with a diameter between 0.01 mm and 10 cm.
15 . The device of claim 1 wherein said first positioning element is oval and wherein said oval has a long axis between 0.01 mm and 10 cm and a short axis between 0.01 mm and 9 cm.
16 . A device to perform ablation of tissue in a hollow organ, comprising
a. a catheter having a hollow shaft through which steam can be delivered;
b. a first positioning element attached to said catheter shaft at a first position, wherein said first positioning element is configured to position said catheter at a predefined distance from the surface of the hollow organ;
c. a second positioning element attached to said catheter shaft at a second position, wherein the second positioning element is shaped to position said catheter at a predefined distance from the surface of the hollow organ;
d. a plurality of ports integrally formed in said catheter shaft, wherein steam can be released out of said ports and directed toward tissue to be ablated and wherein said ports are located between said first position and second position; and
e. at least one temperature sensor.
17 . The device of claim 16 wherein said first positioning element has a predefined dimension and wherein said dimension is used to determine the size of the hollow organ.
18 . The device of claim 16 wherein the second positioning element has a predefined dimension and wherein said dimension is used to calculate an amount of thermal energy needed to ablate the tissue.
19 . The device of claim 16 wherein said at least one temperature sensor is used to control delivery of said ablative agent.
20 . The device of claim 1 wherein said second positioning element has a disc shape that is oval and wherein said oval has a long axis between 0.01 mm and 10 cm and a short axis between 0.01 mm and 9 cm.