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:
Jan. 23, 1996
Filed:
Nov. 08, 1993
Ronald G Lax, Grass Valley, CA (US);
Stuart D Edwards, Los Altos, CA (US);
Hugh R Sharkey, Redwood Shores, CA (US);
ZoMed International, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Abstract
A medical ablation device comprising a flexible RF electrode wire or tube, the terminal portion thereof extending through an insulating sleeve axially moveable thereon. The electrode and surrounding sleeve extend through a portion of a rigid tube having a distal end adapted to be inserted into the body of a patient. Tabs are attached to the proximal end of the sleeve and electrode for advancing them together from the terminal end of the tube, for retracting the sleeve from the distal end of the electrode to expose a predetermined area of electrode surface, and for retracting them together into the terminal end of the tube. The electrode can also be a hollow tube, the proximal end thereof being adapted to be connected to a suction source for aspiration of tissue adjacent its distal end or it can optionally contain a fiber optic, the end thereof being enclosed within the tube and closely adjacent its distal end. In one embodiment, the electrode is a hollow electrode tube of highly flexible memory metal, preformed to have a curved memory configuration. The portion of the electrode tube and its surrounding sleeve extending beyond the distal end of the outer tube adopts the curved memory configuration, causing it to follow a curved path when extended through intervening tissue to reach a target tissue to be ablated.