The invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for utilizing energy, such as radio frequency energy, in a multi electrode and bipolar fashion to treat defined substantial volumes of animal or human tissue uniformly about a linear array of electrodes and more particularly have the ability to concentrate lesion formation around desired electrodes through the use of a member having multiple electrodes whose polarity of one or more electrodes is independently controlled and dynamically changed along the length of the electrodes and repeated as many times as necessary to produce a substantial and uniform lesion.
Methods for treating damaged animal or human tissue, such as those with benign and malignant tumors, have been developed and improved for many years. Recently, a new technique known as radio frequency ablation has been developed in order to treat damaged tissue by destroying its damaged cells plus the adjacent undamaged cells to prevent further spreading. The radio frequency energy causes the tissue to heat up to a high temperature, therefore breaking apart and killing the cells. The objective of radio frequency ablation is to heat tissues to 50-100 degrees centigrade for 4-6 minutes without causing charring or vaporization. Under these conditions there is almost instantaneous cellular protein denaturation, melting of lipid bilayers and destruction of DNA, RNA and key cellular enzymes. This is commonly known as cell necrosis.
In a monopolar ablation system, a probe or catheter containing electrodes with high voltage polarity that releases electrical energy, is placed inside the body while an electrode pad with return polarity that completes the electrical circuit is placed outside on the patient's skin. The result is greater amounts of electrical energy being dispersed throughout the patient's body, therefore causing collateral damage, or destroying tissue that is not targeted.
Following the development of this device is a new system known as a bipolar ablation system. This improved device contains both the electrodes with high voltage and return polarity on the same probe that is placed inside the tissue, therefore eliminating the need for an external return electrode pad and eliminate the possibility of collateral damage. However, bipolar instruments available in the market are limited in lesion size and uniformity.
Monopolar radiofrequency ablation instruments for substantial ablation marketed by Tyco, Boston Scientific and others produce spherical or near spherical lesions of 2 to 5 cm in diameter, delivered around a single needle shaft of 1.25 to 2.5 mm diameter with over 100 watts of electrical energy. These monopolar instruments require dispersion of electric energy throughout the body and cause collateral damage such as burns around the return electrode pads, commonly known as pad-burns.
In bipolar ablation systems, the electric energy is present local to the ablated area and not dispersed throughout the body, but their use is still limited due to limitations in lesion geometry and size.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,312,428, 6,524,308 and 6,706,039 describe devices for electro thermal cauterization of tissue with linear electrodes. When operated in a bipolar mode, these devices are limited to spherical lesions of 2 cm or smaller. See
U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,506 describes a device for creating long, thin lesions. When operated in a bipolar mode, this device produces long and thin lesions that are about twice as wide as the body width and as long as the electrode cluster. Typical embodiments produce a lesion of 5 cm by 2.5-3 mm wide.
While technology has resulted in our ability to ablate targeted volumes of tissue, there is still an important need for a bipolar ablation system that heats a zone about a linear cluster of electrodes on a single shaft uniformly, and produces a substantially sized uniform lesion that is nearly spherical and similar in size and uniformity to lesions produced by currently available single needle monopolar radiofrequency ablation instruments.
An improved bipolar single needle device for substantial uniform ablation would have to produce uniform lesions that are nearly spherical in geometry, with a diameter of 2 to 5 cm around a single shaft similar to monopolar radiofrequency ablation systems.
The present invention provides such methods that will in turn enable practitioners to ablate a significantly greater amount of targeted areas of tissue uniformly about a single needle bipolar linear array of electrodes combined with avoiding the unnecessary destruction of other healthy tissue.
The invention described is a medical device for substantial and uniform ablation of animal or human tissue comprising of a generator for generating radio frequency electric energy at an electrode, a polarity alternator for dynamically and automatically altering the polarity of individual electrodes in a linear cluster of electrodes, a probe having a handle, a tip tapered to provide a sharp point, and an elongated member. The elongated member has a proximal end and a distal end. At the distal end, there is a linear electrode cluster of three or more electrodes wherein the electrodes are electrically insulated from each other and at least two of the electrodes have dissimilar polarity from each other. At least one of the electrodes has a high voltage polarity and at least one of the electrodes has a return polarity.
During ablation, polarity alternator is used for dynamically and automatically changing the polarity of the electrodes in a linear cluster individually at the tip at the far end of the distal end that is suitable for insertion into tissue. The electrodes are optionally spaced evenly or optionally unevenly along the length of the distal end of the elongated member.
The electrodes are optionally composed of electrically conductive matter including copper, stainless steel, or precious metal plated material.
The described invention consists of a method for substantially uniform ablation of animal or human tissue further comprising the steps of placement of electrode cluster of three or more electrodes on the distal end of an elongated single member adjacent to the tissue. The electrodes are capable of carrying an electrical charge.
Optionally, the method activates a generator with high voltage and ground return polarities. Optionally, a polarity alternator that is located inside the generator, inside the probe handle, or a stand-alone instrument is activated to create dissimilar polarities between the three or more electrodes such that the total surface area of the electrodes with a high voltage polarity is unequal to the total surface area of the electrodes having a return polarity, creating a higher current density about the electrodes of polarity with a lesser total surface area sufficient to cause ablation of tissue adjacent to the area of higher current density.
Optionally, the polarity of the three or more electrodes is altered individually to create a higher current density about the electrodes or polarity having a lesser surface area at a different point along the length of the cluster of electrodes prior to altering the polarity of electrodes, to ablate tissue adjacent to the area of higher current density.
The alteration of the polarity of the three or more electrodes will optionally change individually from high voltage to return polarity, neutral, or remain at high voltage polarity and from return to high voltage polarity, neutral, or remain at return polarity.
Lastly, as an option, the polarity alteration of the three or more electrodes is repeated during ablation and lesion formation is cycled over the length of the cluster and from electrode to electrode as many times as needed to achieve a spherical and uniform lesion of the tissue that is similar in size and uniformity to lesions made by monopolar instruments.
This invention relates to a bipolar radio frequency ablation system and method. Radio frequency ablation may be performed through an open incision or through laparoscopy, which is performed through multiple small incisions, or percutaneously as required. The duration and power requirements of a radio frequency ablation procedure may depend on many factors, including the size of the needed lesion, number of desired applications and location of the animal or human tissue being treated.
The probe 4, as shown in
Polarity alternator 1 alters the individual polarities to the electrode array during ablation so that lesion is initially formed about electrode E3 then electrode E2 then electrode E1 for a preset time period T, and then lesion formation is repeated about electrodes E3, E2, E1 and then back to E3 so on. As such, lesion formation repeating about electrodes E3, E2, and E1 and then back to E3 is referred to as cycle of lesion formation.
Polarity alternator 1 is shown as a stand-alone instrument in
Next step is represented in
Next step is represented in
Lesion formation is independent of polarity because it forms where a higher current density is present. Additionally, current density is independent of polarity and a function of active surface area. Lesion will form about the electrode or electrodes with the higher current density around them and irrespective of a particular polarity. Therefore, electrodes with high voltage polarity or return polarity in
The polarity alteration is dynamically repeated to cycle lesion formation through the three electrodes as shown in
In one embodiment, a cluster 10 of three 12 mm long electrodes separated by 5 mm length of insulation each on a 1.75 mm shaft 14 with a lesion formation time period T of 5 to 10 seconds about each electrode in the cycle will produce a spherical or near spherical lesion of diameter 45 to 50 mm with 12 to 15 watts of input radiofrequency energy in about 15 minutes of ablation time.
In another embodiment, a cluster 10 of three 3 mm long electrodes separated by 1 mm length of insulation each on a 0.5 mm shaft 14 with a lesion formation time period T of 2 to 3 seconds about each electrode in the cycle will produce a spherical or near spherical lesion of diameter 10 to 12 mm with about 2 to 5 watts of input radiofrequency energy in about 4 minutes of ablation time.
In yet another embodiment, a cluster 10 of three 1 mm long electrodes separated by 1 mm length of insulation each on a 0.5 mm shaft 14 with a lesion formation time period T of 0.5 to 1.5 seconds about each electrode in the cycle will produce a spherical or near spherical lesion of diameter of 5 mm with about 1 to 2 watts of input radiofrequency energy in about 1 to 2 minutes of ablation time.
It is appreciated that polarity alteration shown in table in
An electrode shaped in the form of flexible coils 30 with straight edges 32 wrapped about the circumference of the elongated member 14 with rectangular cross section 50 will produce more uniform ablations over the length of the electrode in addition to being flexible. Although flexible coils with non-rectangular cross sections such as round may be used to achieve flexibility, a rectangular shape is preferred because an individual electrode made up of many straight edges 32 spaced closely to each other produces a more uniform ablation that is made up of smaller lesions about the straight edges 32 that are spaced closely to each other that propagate and join into a uniform lesion about the entire length of the individual electrode. The power input to the electrode array is controlled by monitoring lesion temperature by locating feedback temperature sensors such as thermocouple wires 34 under electrodes. Power is adjusted to maintain an average temperature under 100 degrees centigrade around the linear array.
Determination of lesion formation and completion is accomplished by monitoring electrical current and voltage in individual wire connections 36 to electrodes in circuitry embedded within the generator 2 or polarity alternator 1. Electrical characteristics such as impedance of the tissue under treatment are calculated by the circuitry based on the monitored voltage and current. The circuit continuously monitors and calculates the electrical characteristics of the lesion that is being formed around the electrode where lesion is being formed and the other electrodes and then averages the values over a cycle for all electrodes in a cluster.
Lesion is formed as tissue cell necroses takes place. As cells change composition while the tissue is heated, the average impedance of the volume of tissue where electric current is contained continuously increases until full necroses of all cells in the volume of tissue where electric field is present takes place. Lesion grows to the size of the electric field because that is where electrons responsible for ablation are present. As lesion is formed and grows to the size of the electric field, the average impedance of tissue where electric energy is present increases until full lesion formation. Average impedance measured between electrodes does not increase any further when a lesion the size of the electric field about a linear array of electrodes is formed. Substantial and uniform ablations 40 only treat the material portions of tissue that is located in a sphere or near-sphere around the distal tip of the probe 4 and equal in diameter to the length of the bipolar cluster 10 as shown in
The ability to control lesion formation about specific electrodes in a bipolar device and cylce lesion formation over the length of a cluster of electrodes repeatedly by alteration of polarities enables the device to produce a substantial uniform ablation lesion 40 by manipulating current densities about electrodes in a linear array of electrodes and cycling the current density and therefore lesion formation many times over the length of the cluster resulting in a substantial uniform ablation of the tissue along the length of the electrode cluster that is spherical or near spherical with a diameter about equal to the length of the electrode cluster. See
Lesion formation per this patent may be verified in many mediums such as a transparent protein medium such as egg white or in animal tissue such as muscle tissue, liver tissue, kindeny tissue, lung tissue, etc.
A lesion in liver tissue is shown in
From the aforementioned description, it is appreciated how the objectives and features of the above-described invention are met. The invention provides a linear cluster on a single shaft as a minimally invasive surgical tool and technique for heating substantial volumes of tissue about the electrode elements uniformly to produce a substantial and uniform lesion that is spherical or nearly spherical equal in diameter to the length of the linear electrode cluster located at the distal end of the apparatus of the invention. It is appreciated that various modifications of the apparatus and method are possible without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims set forth below.
This application is a continuation-in-part of currently pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/878,168, filed on Jun. 25, 2004, which is fully incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10878168 | Jun 2004 | US |
Child | 11286832 | Nov 2005 | US |