Patent ID: 8092507

Claim:
An interstitial energy treatment probe holder comprising: a body having a first section including a top-most portion and a bottom-most portion, and a second section including a top-most portion and a bottom-most portion, said first section including at least one attachment arm removably attachable to at least one positioning arm of a positionable imaging unit, said first section defining one or more energy probe receiving channels, each energy probe receiving channel having a diameter larger than a diameter of an energy probe such that the energy probe can extend through any of the one or more energy probe receiving channels, through and beyond the top-most portion of the first section, and through and beyond the bottom-most portion of the first section, substantially along a first axis, and said second section connected to the first section and defining a plurality of spaced-apart thermal probe receiving channels, including: (i) a first thermal probe receiving channel at a first predetermined distance from one of the one or more energy probe receiving channels, the first predetermined distance based on a first tissue to be treated, the first thermal probe receiving channel having a diameter larger than a diameter of a thermal probe such that the thermal probe can extend through the first thermal probe receiving channel, through and beyond the top-most portion of the second section, and through and beyond the bottom-most portion of the second section, substantially along a second axis, said second axis being different than the first axis, and (ii) a second thermal probe receiving channel at, second predetermined distance from said one of the one or more energy probe receiving channels, the second predetermined distance based on a different second tissue to be treated, the second thermal probe receiving channel having a diameter larger than the diameter of the thermal probe such that the thermal probe can extend through the second thermal probe receiving channel, through and beyond the top-most portion of the second section, and through and beyond the bottom-most portion of the second section, substantially along a third axis, said third axis being different than said first axis and different than said second axis, the second predetermined distance being greater than the first predetermined distance, and the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis being substantially co-planar, the body configured to: (a) hold the energy probe in an operator-selected position with respect to the positionable imaging unit during an interstitial energy treatment, (b) hold the thermal probe at either the first predetermined distance from said energy probe or the second predetermined distance from said energy probe during said interstitial energy treatment, and (c) hold both the energy probe and the thermal probe in an operator-selected one of a plurality of different planes.