Patent ID: 8511317

Claim:
A method for ablating a region of a target tissue, said method comprising: positioning a treatment catheter adjacent the target tissue, the treatment catheter comprising an ultrasound emitter disposed near a distal end thereof; ablating the target tissue with ultrasound energy delivered to the target tissue from the ultrasound emitter to form a lesion, wherein the ultrasound energy from the ultrasound emitter comprises a collimated beam of ultrasound energy; sweeping the collimated beam of ultrasound energy in a continuous fashion to form the lesion in a continuous pattern, wherein the lesion is formed without direct contact between the ultrasound emitter and the target tissue, wherein sweeping the collimated beam of ultrasound energy comprises at least one of the following: linear movement, or rotation about a longitudinal axis of the treatment catheter or a distal end thereof while ablating the target tissue; cooling the ultrasound emitter with a fluid wherein the fluid is in contact with the ultrasound emitter; and providing a separation medium between the ultrasound emitter and blood in proximity to the target tissue to prevent the blood from coagulating on the ultrasound emitter, wherein the separation medium comprises the fluid, wherein the ultrasound energy delivered to the target tissue is reflected by the target tissue back towards the ultrasound emitter; and further comprising analyzing the ultrasound energy reflected by the target tissue, while sweeping the collimated beam of ultrasound energy, to sense information about the target tissue.