Patent ID: 8758349

Claim:
A method of treating a vertebral body, comprising: providing an elongate tool having a sharp tip configured for penetration into vertebral tissue, the tool having an axis extending from a proximal end to a working end thereof, where the working end comprises at least a first sleeve concentrically located within a second sleeve, where the first sleeve has a weakened section on a single side comprising a first series of slots or notches, and the second sleeve has a weakened section on a single side comprising a second series of slots or notches, where the first and second series of slots or notches limit deflection of the working end to a first curved configuration in a single plane and where the first and second series of slots or notches are radially offset from each other, where a first conductive portion of the first sleeve is electrically coupled to a first pole of a power supply; advancing the working end through vertebral tissue; causing the working end to move from a linear configuration to a curved configuration by translating the first sleeve relative to the second sleeve in an axial direction; and applying energy between the first conductive portion and a return electrode electrically coupled to a second pole of the energy supply to ablate or coagulate a region within the vertebral body.