Patent ID: 7627380

Claim:
A probe system for treating an intervertebral disc of a patient, comprising: a probe, the probe comprising: a hub, the hub having a key slot defined therein that extends along a portion of the length of the hub; a cannula having a proximal end and a distal end and having an open end defined at the distal end thereof, said cannula adapted to couple to a power source; the hub and the cannula defining a needle; and a stylet having a proximal end and a distal end, said stylet fitting into said cannula so that the distal end of the stylet occludes said open end at said distal end of said cannula; and a pressure monitoring apparatus adapted to be coupled to said stylet, said stylet including a pressure sensor in proximity to the distal end of said stylet, said pressure sensor adapted to communicate with said pressure monitoring apparatus so as to measure the pressure of the intervertebral disc, wherein the power source delivers power to said distal end of said cannula, causing heating of the disc when said distal end of said cannula is disposed within the disc, to relieve patient pain associated with the disc thereby, wherein the key slot includes at least two openings that are separated from each other by a distance along the length of the hub, the at least two openings being configured to operably engage a key portion connected to the stylet.