Patent ID: 7261710

Claim:
A transurethral ablation device, comprising: a transurethral catheter; at least one ablation needle extendable from a distal end of the catheter to penetrate prostate tissue of a patient and to deliver ablation energy to the prostate tissue, wherein an insulative sheath surrounds each needle; and a needle deployment mechanism to advance at least one needle out of the distal end of the catheter, the needle deployment mechanism comprising: a lever actuatable by a physician; a needle block to advance the at least one needle to a desired needle depth in response to actuation of the lever; a sheath block to advance the sheath to a first predetermined sheath depth in response to actuation of the lever; a spring connected to retract the sheath block after advancement of the at least one needle to a predetermined needle depth, such that the sheath is retracted to a second predetermined sheath depth; a catch positioned to maintain a fixed position of the sheath block such that the second predetermined sheath depth is maintained.