Patent ID: 7226446

Claim:
A system for ablating an interior tissue region of an organ or duct within a body of a patient comprising: an ablation tool including an elongated antenna device electrically coupled to a coaxial transmission line that is electrically coupled to a source of microwave energy for delivering sufficient microwave energy to the antenna device to effect ablation of a tissue region within the interior of the organ or duct, the coaxial transmission line including an inner conductor, an outer conductor and a dielectric medium disposed between the inner and outer conductors, the antenna device including an antenna that is coupled to a distal end of the inner conductor of the coaxial transmission line and an enclosure that encapsulates the antenna with a dielectric material; and an introducer that is not connected to the source of microwave energy, said introducer having a proximal end, a sharpened distal end for penetrating through a wall of the organ or duct, and a lumen which is sized and dimensioned for slidable movement of the antenna device therein, the antenna device being configured to be deployed into the interior of the organ or duct through the sharpened distal end of the introducer with a deployed shape that is straight and at a skewed angular orientation relative to a longitudinal axis of the introducer, over an entire exposed length of the antenna device that extends distally from the introducer, to orient the antenna device in a direction towards and substantially parallel to an interior portion of the penetrated wall for producing a linear lesion at the tissue region of the penetrated wall which is targeted for ablation.