Patent ID: 9023037
Filing Date: 2015-05-05
Classification: A61B,A61N

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for renal denervation, the apparatus comprising: a catheter configured for intravascular placement within a renal blood vessel of a human patient; an expandable balloon at a distal portion of the catheter, wherein the expandable balloon is configured to transform between a delivery configuration and a deployed configuration sized to fit within the renal blood vessel; and a plurality of electrodes attached to the expandable balloon, wherein each electrode comprises at least one pair of bipolar contacts and is part of a flex circuit on a surface of the balloon configured to deliver thermal radio frequency (RF) energy in a bipolar fashion across an interior wall of the renal blood vessel to targeted renal nerves to achieve at least partial renal denervation, wherein, when the expandable balloon is in the deployed configuration, all of the electrodes are spaced apart from each other and arranged on an oblique circumference about the balloon that is not normal to a longitudinal axis thereof, and wherein each electrode occupies a distinct longitudinal position and a distinct radial position with respect to the longitudinal axis.