US005769847A [ii] Patent Number: 5,769,847 [45] Date of Patent: Jun. 23, 1998
[54] SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR
CONTROLLING TISSUE ABLATION USING
MULTIPLE TEMPERATURE SENSING
ELEMENTS
[75] Inventors: Dorin Nmi Panescu, Sunnyvale; James
G. Whayne, Saratoga; Sidney D.
Fleischman, Menlo Park; David K.
Swanson, Mountain View, all of Calif.
[73] Assignee: EP Technologies, Inc., San Jose, Calif.
[21] Appl. No.: 638,989
[22] Filed: Apr. 24, 1996
Related U.S. Application Data
[63] Continuation of Ser. No. 286,930, Aug. 8, 1994, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 266,934, Jun. 27, 1994, abandoned.
[51] Int. C I. A61B 17/36
[52] U.S. CI 606/42; 606/48; 606/31;
607/101
[58] Field of Search 606/27-32, 37^2,
606/45-52; 607/100-102; 128/642
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
A system and associated method ablate body tissue using multiple emitters of ablating energy. The system and method convey ablating energy individually to each emitter in a sequence of power pulses. The system and method periodically sense temperature at each emitter and compare the sensed temperatures to a desired temperature established for all emitters to generate a signal individually for each emitter based upon the comparison. The system and method individually vary the power pulse to each emitter based upon the signal for that emitter to maintain the temperatures at all emitters essentially at the desired temperature during tissue ablation.
68 Claims, 16 Drawing Sheets
