Patent ID: 7001415

Claim:
A device for clamping and ablating cardiac tissue comprising: first and second jaws, the jaws being relatively movable between a first open position and a second clamped position, the jaws having opposed clamping surfaces, each clamping surface having a width; a first elongated conductive ablation member carried by the first jaw; a second elongated conductive ablation member carried by the second jaw; the first and second conductive ablation members being adapted to be connected to a bipolar RF energy source; each conductive ablation member having a surface contoured to engage tissue clamped between the jaws without cutting and positioned to provide an ablation line through tissue which is substantially narrower than the width of the clamping surface; and each jaw comprising at least three distinct elements, an elongated support member supporting substantially the entire length of its associated conductive ablation member, the first or second elongated conductive ablation member, and an insulator disposed between the conductive member and the support member.