Cavitary tissue ablation
The invention relates to a tissue ablation system including an ablation device having a deployable applicator head configured to be delivered to a tissue cavity and ablate marginal tissue surrounding the tissue cavity. The deployable applicator head is configured to be delivered to a tissue cavity while in a collapsed configuration and ablate marginal tissue surrounding the tissue cavity while in an expanded configuration.
1. A medical device, comprising:
a handle;
an expandable balloon assembly extending from the handle, the expandable balloon assembly comprising:
an expandable inner balloon configured to transition from a collapsed configuration to an expanded spherical shape, an exterior surface of the inner balloon including a plurality of ridges defined thereon and oriented generally along a longitudinal axis of the inner balloon and the handle; and
an expandable outer balloon configured to correspondingly transition from a collapsed configuration to an expanded spherical shape in response to expansion of the inner balloon, the outer balloon comprising a plurality of chambers wherein each chamber is defined between an interior surface of the outer balloon and the exterior surface of the inner balloon and a pair of adjacent ridges of the plurality of ridges, the outer balloon further comprising a plurality of perforations configured to allow passage of a fluid from the plurality of chambers to an exterior surface of the outer balloon; and
a plurality of conductive wires, each of the plurality of conductive wires:
disposed within a separate one of the chambers;
having a length extending from a proximal end of the separate one of the chambers to a distal end of the conductive wire that terminates adjacent to a distal end of the separate one of the chambers;
including a substantially constant cross section along the length; and
configured to receive an electrical current and conduct energy to be carried by the fluid passing from the separate one of the chambers to the exterior surface of the outer balloon via the plurality of perforations.
2. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of conductive wires, or one or more sets of a combination of the plurality of conductive wires, is configured to independently receive the electrical current from an energy source and independently conduct the energy.
3. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of conductive wires is configured to conduct the energy, wherein the energy is radiofrequency (RF) energy.
4. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of conductive wires is substantially aligned with one of the plurality of perforations of the outer balloon.
5. The medical device of claim 1 , wherein the inner and outer balloons comprise a non-conductive material.