Granted Patent B2

US 12,667,421 · App. 18/084,521 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

Inventor: Leigh E. Colby (Lino Lakes, MN)

Assignee: TriAgenics, Inc.

A61B18/1815A61B2018/00005A61B2018/00273A61B2018/00577A61B2018/1861A61B2018/1892

Abstract

Claims (111)

1 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna having an annular outer conductor, a heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding said annular outer conductor, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation, said coaxial antenna being a near field antenna from which microwaves radiate in a noncoherent fashion;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said near field antenna preventing said center of ablation from migrating up said shaft away from said insertion end.

2 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna having an annular outer conductor, a heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding said annular outer conductor, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation, said coaxial antenna being a near field antenna from which microwaves radiate in a noncoherent fashion;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said near field antenna having a predetermined shape selected from the group consisting of oblate, spherical, and oblong.

3 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna having an annular outer conductor, a heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding said annular outer conductor, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation, said coaxial antenna being a near field antenna from which microwaves radiate in a noncoherent fashion;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said center of ablation is a stationary center of ablation.

4 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna, an annular heat transfer layer partially surrounding said coaxial antenna, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding an annular outer conductor of said coaxial antenna, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said ablation zone having a predetermined power loading density in said ablation zone.

5 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna, an annular heat transfer layer partially surrounding said coaxial antenna, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding an annular outer conductor of said coaxial antenna, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said ablation zone having a predetermined peak temperature in said ablation zone.

6 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture;

(d) an annular heat transfer layer surrounding said coaxial antenna and spaced from said insertion end such that said annular aperture is between said annular heat transfer layer and said insertion end, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding said annular outer conductor, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(e) said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(f) said ablation zone having a predetermined shape selected from the group consisting of oblate, spherical, and oblong.

7 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna, an annular heat transfer layer partially surrounding said coaxial antenna, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding an annular outer conductor of said coaxial antenna, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said ablation zone having an annular aperture and a power loading density in said ablation zone, said annular aperture and said power loading density selected from the group consisting of:

(i) a short annular aperture and high power loading;

(ii) a medium annular aperture and medium power loading; and

(iii) a long annular aperture and low power loading.

8 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna, an annular heat transfer layer partially surrounding said coaxial antenna, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding an annular outer conductor of said coaxial antenna, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(d) said ablation zone having an annular aperture and a peak temperature in said ablation zone, said annular aperture and said peak temperature selected from the group consisting of:

(i) a short annular aperture and high peak temperature;

(ii) a medium annular aperture and medium peak temperature; and

(iii) a long annular aperture and low peak temperature.

9 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna;

(b) an annular aperture defined in at least one outer layer of said coaxial antenna toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said coaxial antenna and surrounded by said annular aperture, said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone;

(d) an annular heat transfer layer surrounding said coaxial antenna, said annular heat transfer layer having an annular edge that is the closest part of said annular heat transfer layer to said annular aperture, said annular edge spaced from said insertion end such that said annular aperture is between said annular heat transfer layer and said insertion end, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding an annular outer conductor of said coaxial antenna, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(e) an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and said annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer; and

(f) said ablation zone having a predetermined shape determined by said aperture offset, such that a relatively short length aperture offset causes said ablation zone to be oblate, a relatively long length aperture offset causes said ablation zone to be oblong, and a medium length aperture offset causes said ablation zone to be spherical.

10 . An ablation probe tip having a shaft with an insertion end, said ablation probe tip receiving ablation means from an ablation source, said ablation probe tip for ablating targeted tissue from within, said ablation probe tip comprising:

(a) said shaft including a coaxial antenna, said coaxial antenna comprising:

(i) an inner conductor;

(ii) an annular dielectric insulator layer surrounding said inner conductor; and

(iii) an annular outer conductor surrounding said annular dielectric insulator layer;

(b) an annular aperture defined in said annular outer conductor toward said insertion end;

(c) a center of ablation located within said inner conductor and surrounded by said annular aperture;

(d) an annular heat transfer layer surrounding said coaxial antenna and spaced from said insertion end such that said annular aperture is between said annular heat transfer layer and said insertion end, said heat transfer layer at least partially annularly surrounding said annular outer conductor, the space between said heat transfer layer and said annular outer conductor is free from insulation;

(e) an annular tip cover at said insertion end, said annular tip cover surrounding and covering an end of said coaxial antenna and said annular aperture;

(f) said center of ablation being a focal region from which said ablation means radiates through said annular aperture to form an ablation zone; and

(g) said ablation zone having a predetermined shape selected from the group consisting of oblate, spherical, and oblong.

11 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , wherein said insertion end is a self-introducing insertion end.

12 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , wherein said insertion end is a self-introducing insertion end, said predetermined shape determined by an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and an annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer.

13 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said predetermined shape determined by an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and an annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer.

14 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , wherein said insertion end is a self-introducing insertion end, said predetermined shape determined by an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and an annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer, wherein an oblate ablation zone has a relatively short aperture offset, an oblong ablation zone has a relatively long aperture offset, and a spherical ablation zone has an aperture offset between said aperture offsets of said oblate ablation zone and said oblong ablation zone.

15 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said predetermined shape determined by an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and an annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer, wherein an oblate ablation zone has a relatively short aperture offset, an oblong ablation zone has a relatively long aperture offset, and a spherical ablation zone has an aperture offset between said aperture offsets of said oblate ablation zone and said oblong ablation zone.

16 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said predetermined shape determined by an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and an annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer, wherein the ablation zone the aperture offset are selected from the group consisting of:

(a) the ablation zone is an oblate shaped ablation zone, and the aperture offset is less than 1 mm;

(b) the ablation zone is a spherical shaped ablation zone, and the aperture offset is in the range of 1 mm to 4 mm; and

(c) the ablation zone is an oblong shaped ablation zone, and the aperture offset is greater than 4 mm.

17 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said predetermined shape determined by an aperture offset, said aperture offset being a distance between said center of ablation and an annular edge of said annular heat transfer layer, wherein an oblate ablation zone has a relatively short aperture offset, an oblong ablation zone has a relatively long aperture offset, and a spherical ablation zone has an aperture offset between said aperture offsets of said oblate ablation zone and said oblong ablation zone, wherein the ablation zone the aperture offset are selected from the group consisting of:

(a) the ablation zone is an oblate shaped ablation zone, and the aperture offset is less than 1 mm;

(b) the ablation zone is a spherical shaped ablation zone, and the aperture offset is in the range of 1 mm to 4 mm; and

(c) the ablation zone is an oblong shaped ablation zone, and the aperture offset is greater than 4 mm.

18 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said coaxial antenna further comprising an insulation annular layer annularly surrounding said annular outer conductor, said annular heat transfer layer annularly surrounding said insulation annular layer.

19 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , wherein the annular heat transfer layer is an outermost layer.

20 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , further comprising an antenna end load positioned between said annular aperture and said insertion end.

21 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , further comprising an antenna end load positioned between said annular aperture and said insertion end, said antenna end load concentrating energy density and increasing power loading.

22 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said annular heat transfer layer having high thermal conductivity and being electrically conductive.

23 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said annular aperture exposing an annular ring of said annular dielectric insulator layer.

24 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 wherein, during use, the center of ablation remains substantially stationary.

25 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 wherein the tip cover is made from a material having the following properties:

(a) high radio translucency;

(b) low thermal conductivity; and

(c) electrically nonconductive.

26 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 wherein the tip cover is made from a material having the following properties:

(a) high radio translucency;

(b) low thermal conductivity; and

(c) electrically nonconductive;

(d) wherein, during use, the center of ablation remains substantially stationary.

27 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 wherein the annular heat transfer layer is configured to, in use, be quenched by transferring thermal energy from said annular heat transfer layer into soft tissue surrounding said annular heat transfer layer.

28 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 wherein the annular heat transfer layer is configured to, in use, be quenched by transferring thermal energy from said annular heat transfer layer into soft tissue surrounding said annular heat transfer layer, wherein, during use, the center of ablation remains substantially stationary.

29 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , wherein said coaxial antenna is a near field antenna wherein, in use, the exiting of the ablation means entails energy acting in the near field reactive region of the antenna.

30 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , wherein said coaxial antenna is a near field antenna wherein, in use, the exiting of the ablation means entails energy acting in the near field reactive region of the antenna, wherein the coaxial antenna has an effective antenna length of λ/2π or less.

31 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said ablation probe tip for use with a surgical ablation kit including an ablation source, a hand piece, a stent, and a prescription.

32 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said ablation probe tip for use with a surgical ablation kit including an ablation source, a hand piece, a stent, and a prescription, said prescription including at least one setting or parameter selected from the group consisting of:

(a) ablation energy dose tolerances;

(b) levels of energy; and

(c) duration of energy deliverance.

33 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said ablation probe tip for use with a surgical ablation kit including an ablation source, a hand piece, a stent, and a prescription, said surgical kit, in use, having peak temperature intra-operative control selected from the group consisting of:

(a) passive cooling;

(b) active cooling; and

(c) a combination of passive and active cooling.

34 . The ablation probe tip of claim 10 , said ablation probe tip for use with a surgical ablation kit including an ablation source, a hand piece, a stent, and a prescription, said surgical kit, in use, allowing for at least one intra-operative control selected from the group consisting of:

(a) volume of said ablation zone; and

(b) diameter of said ablation zone.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (400)