Claims
- 1. A method for biological tissue ablation, comprising:
generating a train of radio frequency (RF) energy pulses at an output frequency for transmission in a transmission line to a RF antenna deployable adjacent to a biological tissue load; sensing the reflected signal and the forward signal of the RF energy pulses when the RF antenna is placed adjacent to the biological tissue; and adjusting the output frequency of the RF energy pulses to effect a substantial match of the transmission line impedance with the load impedance.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the substantial match of the transmission line impedance with the load impedance is characterized by minimum signal reflection.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein minimum signal reflection is characterized by a measurement of the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR).
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the output frequency is adjusted such that the VSWR is below a preset threshold value.
- 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising amplifying the train of radio frequency (RF) energy pulses.
- 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising sampling the forward signal and the reflected signal using a bidirectional coupler.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a catheter to deploy the RF antenna to the biological tissue load.
- 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting user inputs from a user.
- 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting alarm conditions and outputting alarms to a user.
- 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying inputs and outputs on a display.
- 11. A system for biological tissue ablation comprising:
means for generating a train of radio frequency (RF) energy pulses at an output frequency for transmission in a transmission line to a RF antenna deployable adjacent to a biological tissue load; means for sensing the reflected signal and the forward signal of the RF energy pulses when the RF antenna is placed adjacent to the biological tissue to be ablated; and means for adjusting the output frequency of the RF energy pulses to effect a substantial match of the transmission line impedance with the load impedance.
- 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the substantial match of the transmission line impedance with the load impedance is characterized by minimum signal reflection.
- 13. The system of claim 12, wherein minimum signal reflection is characterized by a measurement of the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR).
- 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the output frequency is adjusted such that the VSWR is below a preset threshold value.
- 15. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for amplifying the train of radio frequency (RF) energy pulses.
- 16. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for sampling the forward signal and the reflected signal.
- 17. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for deploying the RF antenna to the biological tissue load.
- 18. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for accepting user inputs from a user.
- 19. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for setting alarm conditions and means for outputting alarms to a user.
- 20. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for displaying inputs and outputs.
- 21. A system for biological tissue ablation comprising:
an oscillator for generating a train of radio frequency (RF) energy pulses at an output frequency for transmission in a transmission line to a RF antenna deployable adjacent to a biological tissue load; a bidirectional coupler for sensing the reflected signal and the forward signal of the RF energy pulses when the RF antenna is placed adjacent to the biological tissue to be ablated; and a microcontroller for adjusting the output frequency of the RF energy pulses to effect a substantial match of the transmission line impedance with the load impedance.
- 22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a power amplifier for amplifying the train of RF energy pulses.
- 23. The system of claim 21, further comprising a pre-amplifier for pre-amplifying the RF frequency pulses prior to being amplified by the power amplifier.
- 24. The system of claim 21, further comprising a display coupled to the microcontroller.
- 25. The system of claim 21, further comprising an input control coupled to the microcontroller.
- 26. The system of claim 21, further comprising an alarm output coupled to the microcontroller.
- 27. The system of claim 21, wherein the RF antenna is deflectable.
- 28. The system of claim 21, wherein the RF antenna is shapeable.
- 29. The system of claim 21, further comprising a catheter to deploy the RF antenna to the biological tissue load.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/306,757, filed Nov. 27, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/459,058, filed Dec. 11, 1999, which is continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/211,188, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,382.
Continuation in Parts (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10306757 |
Nov 2002 |
US |
Child |
10637325 |
Aug 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09459058 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
10306757 |
Nov 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09211188 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Child |
09459058 |
Dec 1999 |
US |