Patent ID: 9610396
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61M,G01R

Claim:
1. A method for ablating tissue, comprising: inserting an elongate body into a tissue volume where about ⅓ of the volume is extracellular space; heating a fluid within the elongate body that contains saline and a contrast agent that can be viewed using an X-ray imaging technology; delivering the heated fluid into the tissue volume through an outlet port formed in the elongate body; delivering energy into the tissue volume from an ablation element disposed on the elongate body simultaneously with the heated fluid; capturing an image of the tissue volume using the X-ray imaging technology, wherein the image shows a substantially circular portion of the tissue volume containing the contrast agent of the heated fluid and centered about the outlet port; computing with a digital data processor a first radius of the substantially circular portion of the tissue volume containing the contrast agent of the heated fluid based on the captured image; computing with a digital data processor a second radius that is about ⅔ of the first radius, wherein the second radius represents a portion of the tissue volume that has received a dose of thermal energy sufficient to destroy tissue; and halting delivery of at least one of the heated fluid and energy when the second radius reaches a predetermined value.