Patent ID: 7815637

Claim:
A radio-frequency-based catheter system for ablating biological tissues within the body vessel of a patient, comprising: a) a catheter adapted for insertion into the body vessel of the patient, the catheter having a proximal portion with a proximal end, a distal portion with a distal end and a lumen extending from the proximal portion to the distal portion; b) inner and outer coaxially aligned conductors extending within the catheter and coaxial with the lumen; c) a deflectable catheter guide disposed within the catheter lumen extending proximally within the catheter lumen, the deflectable catheter guide having a distal portion which includes an atraumatic tip which protrudes from the distal end of the catheter; d) a radio-frequency antenna disposed at the distal portion of the catheter and in electrical communication with the inner and outer coaxially aligned conductors, the radio-frequency antenna being adaptable to receive and transmit radio-frequency energy for ablating biological tissue along a biological ablation pathway defined by the deflectable catheter guide; and e) a deflection control mechanism at the proximal end of said catheter which is linked to said deflectable catheter guide and which controls deflection of said deflectable catheter guide in order to vary the configuration of the distal portion of the catheter which carries the antenna.