Patent ID: 7553309

Claim:
A method for heat ablation of tissue in a patient, the method comprising the steps of: inserting at least two electrodes into the tissue; placing at least one return electrode in contact with the patient; sequentially applying energy to each of said at least two electrodes for a pre-determinable period of time, wherein said pre-determinable period of time is determined by the procedure and the number of selected electrodes; determining a parameter at the energized electrode wherein the parameter is selected from a group consisting of impedance, temperature or time and any combination thereof; switching the applied energy to a next electrode if the parameter is above a predetermined limit; determining an off time of a next electrode in sequence; comparing the off time to a predetermined minimum off time, wherein the predetermined minimum off time is determined by a number of electrodes selected; and if the off time is less than the minimum off time, skipping over the next electrode in sequence.