Patent ID: 7479139

Claim:
A cryoprobe having a proximal shaft and a distal operating tip, said distal operating tip comprises a cryocooler operable to cool to cryoablation temperatures tissues surrounding said distal operating tip, thereby cryoablating said tissues, said proximal shaft comprises (a) a cryogen exhaust lumen for exhausting cold cryogen from said cryocooler; (b) a heating element operable to heat at least a portion of an external wall of said proximal shaft during operation of said cryocooler, wherein said heating element is a fluid heating module, said heating module comprises a first passage for delivery of a fluid to a volume within said proximal shaft, and further comprises a second passage for exhausting said fluid from said volume of said proximal shaft; and (c) a separator which prevents gas transiting said exhaust lumen from directly contacting said heated portion of said external wall, thereby enabling to simultaneously both actively cool said distal operating tip and actively heat said external shaft wall portion without, during said simultaneous cooling and heating, exposing said heated shaft wall portion to contact with cold cryogen exhausting from said cryocooler.