Patent ID: 6393314
Filing Date: 2002-05-21
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
An ablation system comprising:an ablation device having an operating tip for guidance by a physician into a treatment position adjacent target tissues in a patient; a resistive element mounted in the ablation device near said operating tip; conductors positioned in the ablation device and connected to the resistive element, said conductors extending from the operating tip toward a non-operating end of the ablation device; a MRI system for acquiring image data from the patient being treated and being operable to display an image reconstructed from the acquired image data which depicts location of the operating tip of the ablation device in the patient; and an ablation control system including a power source coupled to the conductors to deliver alternating current to the resistive element for treating the target tissues, the alternating current being above a predetermined frequency at which gradient coils of the MRI system are switched and being below the Larmor frequency of the MRI system.