Claims
- 1. A modular needle kit for ablation through a puncture site, comprising:
a delivery needle insertable through the puncture site, said delivery needle having an open proximal end and an open distal end with a lumen extending therebetween; an ablation needle adapted for ablating tissue along a length of the ablation needle, said ablation needle comprising a transmission line and a microwave antenna electrically coupled to said transmission line, wherein said microwave antenna is insertable through said open proximal end of said delivery needle and extends beyond said distal end of said delivery needle when said ablation needle is distally displaced within said lumen of said delivery needle, and wherein said ablation needle is further adapted to ablate tissue surrounding the microwave antenna and transmission line; and a positional connector adapted to detachably couple to said ablation needle in a fixed positional relationship with said delivery needle.
- 2. The kit of claim 1, wherein the ablation needle is adapted to ablate surrounding tissue within which the ablation needle is inserted.
- 3. The kit of claim 1, wherein the tissue comprises tissue abnormalities and an insertion track surrounding the length of the ablation needle.
- 4. The kit of claim 1, wherein:
said delivery needle further comprises a first connector for electrically coupling to an outer conductor of said transmission line, said ablation needle further comprises a second connector electrically coupled to a center conductor of said transmission line, and said first and second connectors can be coupled to form a coaxial connector comprising said positional connector.
- 5. The kit of claim 1, wherein said positional connector comprises an external clamp attachable about the proximal ends of said ablation needle and said delivery needle.
- 6. The kit of claim 1, wherein said delivery needle comprises a distal portion having a diameter of 17 gauge or smaller.
- 7. The kit of claim 1, wherein said delivery needle is formed of a nonconductive material.
- 8. The kit of claim 1, wherein said delivery needle is formed of plastic.
- 9. The kit of claim 1, wherein said delivery needle comprises a flat distal end.
- 10. The kit of claim 1, wherein said microwave antenna comprises a flat distal end.
- 11. A system for ablation of tissue comprising:
the kit of claim 1, and a microwave power source, wherein said transmission line is adapted to electrically couple to said microwave power source.
- 12. A method of ablating abnormalities in tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
providing the system of claim 11;introducing the distal end of the delivery needle into tissue in a predetermined area; inserting the distal end of the ablating needle into the lumen of the delivery needle through the open proximal end of the delivery needle; advancing the distal end of the ablating needle to protrude from the distal end of the delivery needle; and ablating the tissue in the predetermined site by delivering microwave power to the microwave antenna through the transmission line.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said introducing step comprises percutaneously introducing the distal end of the delivery needle into the tissue.
- 14. The method of claim 12, wherein said introducing step comprises laparoscopically introducing the distal end of the delivery needle into the tissue.
- 15. The method of claim 12, wherein said introducing step comprises introducing the distal end of the delivery needle into the tissue through an open surgical incision.
- 16. A method of ablating tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a system for ablation of tissue comprising:
a microwave antenna, a transmission line coupled to the microwave antenna, and a microwave power source, wherein the transmission line is adapted to electrically couple to the microwave power source; introducing the distal end of the microwave antenna into tissue to be ablated, whereby an insertion track is created within the tissue; ablating the tissue by applying microwave power to create a microwave field suitable for ablation of the tissue; and while ablating the tissue, ablating at least a portion of the insertion track.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said introducing step comprises introducing the microwave antenna through a lumen of a delivery needle, and wherein the physical dimensions of the microwave antenna are changed by displacing the antenna within the lumen of the delivery needle.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the antenna is displaced proximally with respect to the delivery needle.
- 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the antenna is displaced distally with respect to the delivery needle.
- 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the physical dimensions of the microwave antenna are changed by removing the microwave antenna and replacing it with a second microwave antenna of different physical dimensions.
- 21. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of ablating the tissue comprises creating a predetermined isotherm at a first predetermined distance from the antenna, and wherein said step of ablating the insertion track comprises creating the predetermined isotherm at a second predetermined distance from the antenna, wherein said second predetermined distance is less than said first predetermined distance.
- 22. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of ablating the insertion track comprises:
ablating a first portion of the insertion track; repositioning the antenna; and ablating a second portion of the insertion track.
- 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the system for ablation comprises markings, and wherein said markings are used to determine the new position of the antenna during said repositioning step.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/827,528, filed Apr. 6, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/356,077, filed Jul. 16, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/336,371, filed Jun. 17, 1999, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09827528 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Child |
10428362 |
May 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09356077 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09827528 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09336371 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Child |
09356077 |
Jul 1999 |
US |