Patent ID: 6016811
Filing Date: 2000-01-25
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A method for medical treatment using an ablation catheter system that includes a catheter having a transmission line disposed within a flexible tubular member and a transducer coupled to the transmission line of the catheter for generating an electric field sufficiently strong to cause tissue ablation, the transducer being located at a central portion of the catheter that is proximal to a distal tip portion of the catheter, the method comprising:a) introducing the catheter into a first vessel of the body of a patient and past the heart of the patient such that the distal tip portion of the catheter at least partially passes out of the body of the patient through a second vessel while the central portion of the catheter is positioned within a cardiac chamber of the heart of the body of the patient;b) forming curvature in the catheter within the cardiac chamber of the heart of the body of the patient, the curvature including the central portion of the catheter; andc) applying electromagnetic energy to the transmission line to cause ablation of cardiac tissue in a region adjacent to the central portion of the catheter.