The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 31, 1992
Filed:
May. 25, 1990
Robert S Behl, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Colin J Nichols, Fremont, CA (US);
Interventional Thermodynamics, Inc., Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
Hollow body organs, such as the gallbladder, may be ablated by introducing a substantially unheated thermally conductive medium to the interior of the organ. The thermally conductive medium is then heated to a temperature sufficient to necrose the endothelial lining or mucous membrane of the organ. After the lining or membrane has necrosed, the interior of the organ will fibrose over time and the organ will eventually be resorbed by the body. A catheter useful in performing the ablation method comprises an elongate member having a heating element at its distal tip. The catheter will include at least one lumen for delivering the thermally conductive medium to the interior of the hollow body organ, and the heating means is used to raise the temperature of the thermally conductive medium after it has been delivered. Optionally, the catheter may include one or more inflatable balloons which facilitate sealing of the hollow body organ to inhibit leakage of the thermally conductive medium during the treatment process. The heating element may comprise a single point heat source or a heat source distributed over a fixed length. Distributed heat sources may further be adapted to provide for a non-linear heat flux delivery pattern.