Cryoablation system

By using the condensation structure and condensation cavity in the cryoablation system to capture the water vapor in the gas source gas, the problems of balloon clogging and contraction are solved, and the ablation effect and surgical stability are improved.

CN110720976BActive Publication Date: 2025-03-11ACCUTARGET MEDIPHARMA (SHANGHAI) CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN201911150594.3
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2019-11-21
Publication Date
2025-03-11
Estimated Expiration
2039-11-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The frozen ablation balloon is prone to blockage and contraction during the cooling process, resulting in poor ablation effect.

Method used

By introducing a condensation structure and condensation cavity into the cryoablation system, a low-temperature environment is formed and water vapor in the gas source gas can be captured, thereby improving the purity of the target gas and reducing balloon clogging and shrinkage.

Benefits of technology

It improves the ablation effect of the cryoablation system, reduces balloon blockage and contraction, and ensures the stability and efficiency of the surgical process.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention provides a cryoablation system, including: a gas source, a balloon, a precooling device, and a condensation chamber and a condensation structure; the inlet of the condensation chamber is used to access the gas source gas provided by the gas source, the low-temperature environment formed in the condensation chamber can condense the target gas in the gas source gas into a liquid cryogen, and collect the liquid cryogen at the bottom of the condensation chamber, the outlet of the condensation chamber is used to discharge the collected liquid cryogen, so that the discharged liquid cryogen can be precooled by the precooling device, and the condensation structure is used to form the low-temperature environment in the condensation chamber and capture water vapor in the condensation chamber. The present invention can improve the purity of the target gas, such as N2O gas, and eliminate or reduce the phenomenon of balloon blockage or shrinkage, so as to achieve a better ablation effect.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of medical devices, and in particular to a cryoablation system. Background Art

[0002] Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia, and its incidence rate gradually increases with age. The prevalence rate in people over 80 years old is over 30%. AF itself rarely causes death. The main cause of death and disability is thromboembolic complications, especially stroke, which is the most serious. The treatment of AF mainly relies on drug therapy, catheter ablation therapy and surgical treatment. Each treatment option has certain limitations. Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the cornerstone of AF ablation, and the round cryoballoon can form a ring-shaped fit with the pulmonary vein orifice, so that PVI can be completed in a single step, which greatly reduces the difficulty and time of the operation, making it possible to popularize and promote catheter ablation for AF, and more patients with indications for AF catheter ablation can benefit from it.

[0003] In the cryoablation balloon catheter, a balloon is set at the distal end of the catheter, and a freezing device is set at the proximal end. During the operation, the surgeon will place the cryoablation balloon catheter into the heart cavity through the percutaneous puncture route, reach the pulmonary vein orifice, and inflate the balloon. Then, the outer wall of the balloon is adjusted to contact the myocardial tissue, and then the freezing liquid is sprayed. The freezing liquid absorbs heat and vaporizes rapidly, causing the myocardial cells in contact with the balloon to cool down rapidly. Only when the low temperature is reached for a sufficient period of time can an effective ablation lesion be formed.

[0004] However, balloon blockage and balloon contraction often occur during the cooling process. Balloon blockage results in no cooling, and balloon contraction results in the inability to adhere closely to the myocardial tissue, which directly leads to a poor ablation effect. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a cryoablation system to solve the problem of balloon blockage and balloon contraction.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cryoablation system, comprising: an air source, a balloon, and a precooling device disposed between the air source and the air inlet of the balloon, the system further comprising: a coagulation chamber and a coagulation structure;

[0007] The inlet of the condensation chamber is used to connect the gas source gas provided by the gas source. The low-temperature environment formed in the condensation chamber can condense the target gas in the gas source gas into liquid refrigerant, and collect the liquid refrigerant at the bottom of the condensation chamber. The outlet of the condensation chamber is used to discharge the collected liquid refrigerant so that the discharged liquid refrigerant can be precooled by the precooling device. The condensation structure is used to form the low-temperature environment in the condensation chamber and capture water vapor in the condensation chamber.

[0008] Optionally, the condensation structure includes a gas condenser disposed in the condensation chamber, and the gas condenser is used to:

[0009] The outer surface of the gas condenser is utilized to exchange heat with the condensation chamber to provide a cold source for forming the low-temperature environment, and the water vapor is condensed and attached to the outer surface of the gas condenser.

[0010] Optionally, a gap is provided between the gas condenser and the top of the condensation chamber, so as to utilize the gap to accommodate non-condensable gas in the gas source gas.

[0011] Optionally, the system further includes a cooling component, and the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser are respectively directly or indirectly connected to the cooling component to form a first circulation path between the cooling component and the gas condenser, and the refrigerant can be cooled by the cooling component when flowing to the cooling component.

[0012] Optionally, the refrigerant cooled by the cooling component can make the outer surface of the gas condenser below 0 degrees.

[0013] Optionally, the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the precooling device are respectively connected to the cooling component to form a second circulation passage between the cooling component and the precooling device.

[0014] Optionally, in the first circulation path, the cooling component, the refrigerant inlet of the precooling device, the refrigerant outlet of the precooling device, the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser, the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser are directly or indirectly connected to the cooling component in sequence.

[0015] Optionally, the cooling component includes a compressor and a condenser, the inlet of the compressor is directly or indirectly connected to the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser, the outlet of the compressor is connected to the inlet of the condenser, and the outlet of the condenser is directly or indirectly connected to the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser.

[0016] Optionally, the gas condenser includes a pipe through which a refrigerant can flow.

[0017] Optionally, the system also includes a condensing shell for forming the condensing chamber, the condensing shell having a shell flow cavity, the gas condenser includes a plurality of plates connected to the inner wall of the condensing shell, the plates having a plate flow cavity, and the shell flow cavity respectively connects the plate flow cavities of the plurality of plates so that the refrigerant can flow to each plate through the shell flow cavity.

[0018] Optionally, the system further includes a heat dissipation device and / or a solenoid valve disposed between the condensation chamber and the precooling device.

[0019] Optionally, the condensation structure includes an inner liner for forming the condensation chamber, and the inner liner is used for:

[0020] The inner surface of the inner container is used to exchange heat with the condensation chamber to provide a cold source for forming the low-temperature environment, and the water vapor is condensed and attached to the inner surface of the inner container.

[0021] Optionally, the precooling device includes an outer tank through which a refrigerant flows and a precooling pipeline arranged in the outer tank, the inner tank is also arranged in the outer tank, and one end of the precooling pipeline is connected to the condensation chamber to receive the liquid refrigerant discharged from the condensation chamber;

[0022] A refrigerant flows in the outer liner, and the inner liner is further used to: utilize the outer surface of the inner liner to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing in the outer liner, and conduct the cold energy of the outer surface of the inner liner to the inner surface of the inner liner.

[0023] Optionally, the condensation structure further includes a metal breathable filler connected to the inner liner.

[0024] Optionally, the system further includes a solenoid valve disposed between the gas source and the condensation chamber.

[0025] Optionally, the system further includes a liquid level sensor and a liquid level control switch for detecting the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant collected in the condensation chamber, the liquid level sensor is connected to the liquid level control switch, and the liquid level control switch is connected to the solenoid valve.

[0026] Optionally, the system further includes a gas filter and / or a gas pressure regulating device disposed between the gas source and the condensation chamber.

[0027] Optionally, the system further includes a drainage structure; the drainage structure is used to heat the liquid accumulated water obtained by capturing water vapor by the condensation structure into a water vapor form when drainage is required, and to discharge the liquid accumulated water in the water vapor form.

[0028] The present invention has found through research on the cryoablation system that the reason for balloon blockage is that the target gas, such as N2O gas, provided by the gas source is not pure enough and contains water vapor and non-condensable gas, such as N2 gas. Taking the target gas as N2O gas and the non-condensable gas as N2 gas as an example, when the water is throttled and cooled with N2O, it is easy to freeze and cause blockage of the circulation channel, resulting in the balloon temperature not being able to drop and shrinking, thereby affecting the surgical effect. When the non-condensable gas is throttled and cooled with N2O, the freezing effect of the balloon is affected.

[0029] Furthermore, in the cryoablation system provided by the present invention, through the condensation structure and the condensation cavity, while condensing to form a low-temperature refrigerant, water vapor in the gas source gas can also be captured, thereby improving the purity of the target gas such as N2O gas, and eliminating or reducing the phenomenon of balloon clogging or shrinkage, so as to achieve a better ablation effect. In a further scheme, the gap between the gas condenser and the top of the condensation cavity can also be used to accommodate the non-condensable gas in the gas source gas, and then, the water vapor in the gas source gas and the non-condensable gas such as N2 gas can be separated, thereby improving the purity of the target gas such as N2O gas, and fundamentally eliminating the phenomenon of balloon clogging or shrinkage, so as to achieve a better ablation effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0033] Figure 3 The structure of the condensation structure and the condensation chamber in one embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown. Figure 1 ;

[0034] Figure 4 The structure of the condensation structure and the condensation chamber in one embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown. Figure 2 ;

[0035] Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0036] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 ;

[0037] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 ;

[0038] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 ;

[0039] Fig. 9 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 ;

[0040] Fig.10 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 ;

[0041] Fig.11 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 ;

[0042] Fig.12 It is a schematic structural diagram of a precooling device, a condensation structure and a condensation chamber in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Fig.13 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryoablation system in one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 .

[0044] Description of reference numerals:

[0045] 101-gas source;

[0046] 102- condensation chamber;

[0047] 103-condensation structure;

[0048] 1031-gas condenser;

[0049] 10311-Pipes;

[0050] 10312- Plate;

[0051] 10313-sheet flow cavity;

[0052] 1032- liner;

[0053] 1033-Breathable filling;

[0054] 104-precooling device;

[0055] 1041-precooling pipeline;

[0056] 1042-outer gallbladder;

[0057] 105-Balloon;

[0058] 106- cooling component;

[0059] 1061-Compressor;

[0060] 1062-condenser;

[0061] 1063- fan;

[0062] 1064-Throttling components;

[0063] 107- solenoid valve;

[0064] 108-Liquid level sensor;

[0065] 109-Liquid level control switch;

[0066] 110- Gas pressure regulating device;

[0067] 111 - filter;

[0068] 112- heat dissipation device;

[0069] 113- solenoid valve;

[0070] 114- vacuum pump;

[0071] 115-gas flow meter;

[0072] 116 - condensation shell;

[0073] 1161-shell flow chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0075] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. (if any) in the specification and claims of the present invention and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present invention described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units that are clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0076] The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail with specific embodiments below. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments.

[0077] Please refer to Figure 1 , and in combination with other drawings, the cryoablation system includes: a gas source 101, a balloon 105, and a pre-cooling device arranged between the gas source 101 and the air inlet of the balloon 105. The system also includes: a coagulation chamber 102 and a coagulation structure 103.

[0078] The inlet of the condensation chamber 102 is used to receive the source gas provided by the gas source 101. Furthermore, the source gas to be delivered to the condensation chamber 102 can be the source gas itself generated by the gas source, or it can be the processed source gas obtained after filtering, pressure regulation, etc.

[0079] The low temperature environment formed in the condensation chamber 102 can condense the target gas in the gas source gas into a liquid cryogen, and collect the liquid cryogen at the bottom of the condensation chamber 102. The outlet of the condensation chamber 102 is used to discharge the collected liquid cryogen, so that the discharged liquid cryogen can be precooled by the precooling device 104.

[0080] The low temperature in the low temperature environment can be understood as the temperature or temperature range that can make the target gas condense into a liquid refrigerant. Depending on the different refrigerants used, the temperature or temperature range may vary. At the same time, the low temperature must also meet the requirements of capturing water vapor.

[0081] In this embodiment, the condensation structure 103 can be understood as being used to form the low temperature environment in the condensation chamber and capture the water vapor in the condensation chamber. Any structure that can achieve both of the above two functions, whether it is arranged in the condensation chamber or not, and no matter how the cold source means is provided, does not depart from the scope of this embodiment.

[0082] The source gas can be understood as a mixed gas containing water vapor, non-condensable gas such as N2 gas, and target gas such as N2O gas. This embodiment can capture the water vapor therein, and in a specific scheme, the non-condensable gas can also be left in the condensation container.

[0083] The condensation cavity can be understood as a cavity capable of the above processing process, which can be formed by a condensation shell or an inner tank. According to the different working principles of the condensation structure, the condensation cavity can be formed in various ways. At the same time, the shape and size of the condensation cavity can be changed according to the needs, and are not limited to those shown in the drawings of this embodiment.

[0084] In the scheme described above, through the condensation structure and the condensation cavity, while condensing to form a low-temperature refrigerant, water vapor in the source gas can also be captured, thereby improving the purity of the target gas, such as N2O gas, thereby eliminating or reducing balloon blockage or shrinkage, and achieving a better ablation effect.

[0085] exist Figures 2 to 10 In the embodiment shown, the condensation structure 103 is implemented based on the gas condenser 1031, so that the gas condenser 1031 is used to provide a cold source, wherein the condensation structure 103 is located in the condensation chamber 102. Figures 11 to 13 In the illustrated embodiment, the condensation structure 103 is implemented based on the inner liner 1032 provided in the precooling device, so that the inner liner 1032 is used to provide a cold source, wherein the condensation chamber 102 is located in the condensation structure 103. In addition, this embodiment does not exclude the use of the inner liner 1032 and the gas condenser 1031 to provide a cold source at the same time.

[0086] The implementation methods of these two principles are described below respectively.

[0087] Please refer to Figures 2 to 10 In one embodiment, the condensation structure 103 includes a gas condenser 1031 disposed in the condensation chamber 102, and the gas condenser 1031 is used to:

[0088] The outer surface of the gas condenser 1031 is utilized to exchange heat with the condensation chamber 102 to provide a cold source for forming the low-temperature environment, and to condense the water vapor onto the outer surface of the gas condenser 1031 .

[0089] In the above embodiments, while gas condensation is achieved by using the gas condenser 1031, water vapor can also be attached, thereby capturing water vapor through the attachment of water vapor. Any gas condenser 1031 of any structure in the art can be applied to the condensation structure to achieve the above functions.

[0090] There is a gap between the gas condenser 1031 and the top of the condensation chamber 102, so as to accommodate the non-condensable gas in the gas source gas by using the gap.

[0091] It can be seen that, taking N20 as a refrigerant as an example, its working process can be:

[0092] After the gas source gas enters the condensation chamber 102, the surface of the gas condenser 1031 is at a low temperature (for example, -20°C), which can capture the water vapor in the gas source gas and condense the water vapor into ice and adhere to the surface of the gas condenser 1031. The high-pressure N2O gas condenses into liquid at a low temperature and is retained at the bottom of the condensation chamber 102 under the action of gravity. The non-condensable gas contained in the N2O (such as N2, etc.) is retained in the upper gap of the gas condenser 1031 in the condensation chamber 102 (which can also be understood as the gap between the gas condenser 1031 and the top of the condensation chamber 102); after the liquid N2O is discharged, it can directly or indirectly enter the precooling device 104 for precooling, and enter the balloon 105 after precooling.

[0093] In the implementation of using the gas condenser 1031 , the condensation chamber 102 may be formed by a condensation shell 116 , that is, the system further includes a condensation shell 116 for forming the condensation chamber 102 .

[0094] Correspondingly, the distance between the gas condenser 1031 and the top of the condensation chamber 102 can be understood as the gap between the upper part of the gas condenser 1031 and the top inner wall of the condensation shell 116, and the non-condensable gas can be retained at this position.

[0095] In one implementation, please refer to Figure 3 The gas condenser 1031 may include a pipe 10311 through which a refrigerant can flow. The coldness of the refrigerant in the pipe can be transferred to the outside through the pipe 10311, thereby achieving heat exchange and providing low temperature. At the same time, the surface of the pipe 10311 can be used to adhere to water vapor to prevent the water vapor from condensing into water and falling to the bottom of the condensation container 102 to mix with the liquid refrigerant.

[0096] In a specific example, the pipe can be Figure 3 The embodiment shown is a single pipe, and the present embodiment does not exclude the method of having multiple pipes. At the same time, the pipe can be as follows Figure 3The tube shown is coiled vertically, and this embodiment does not exclude tubes that are coiled horizontally or in other ways. As long as they are in a tubular shape, they do not deviate from the description of this embodiment.

[0097] In one implementation, please refer to Figure 3 The gas condenser includes a plurality of plates 10312, and each plate 10312 has a plate flow cavity 10313 therein.

[0098] In order to realize the circulation of the refrigerant, in this embodiment, the condensation shell may have a shell circulation cavity, and the shell circulation cavity 1161 is respectively connected to the plate circulation cavity 10313 of the plurality of plates 10312, so that the refrigerant can flow to each plate through the shell circulation cavity 1161. It can be seen that this embodiment can adopt a plate heat exchange method to provide low temperature and capture water vapor on the surface of the plate.

[0099] by Figure 4 For example, the vertical spacing of the multiple plates 10312 mentioned above can be the same, and at the same time, the positions of adjacent plates 10312 in the horizontal direction can be staggered.

[0100] The gas condenser 1031 provides low temperature by heat exchange. Then, a refrigerant can flow through the gas condenser 1031 and provide a cooling treatment for the refrigerant to ensure that the gas condenser 1031 can continuously provide low temperature. Figure 5 , the component providing the cooling treatment may be the cooling component 106, that is: the system further includes the cooling component 106, the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser 1031 are directly or indirectly connected to the cooling component 106, respectively, so as to form a first circulation path between the cooling component 106 and the gas condenser 1031, and the refrigerant can be cooled by the cooling component 106 when flowing to the cooling component 106. The refrigerant cooled by the cooling component can, for example, make the outer surface of the gas condenser below 0 degrees.

[0101] The cooling component 106 may be implemented in various ways to cool down the room, such as air compression, condensation, air cooling, and at least one of the methods that can help increase the heat dissipation area.

[0102] In a specific implementation process, the cooling component 106 may include a compressor 1061 and a condenser 1062, the inlet of the compressor 1061 is directly or indirectly connected to the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser 1031, the outlet of the compressor 1061 is connected to the inlet of the condenser 1062, and the outlet of the condenser 1062 is directly or indirectly connected to the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser 1031.

[0103] Furthermore, the cooling assembly 106 may also include a fan 1063 for providing air cooling to the condenser 106. Still further, a throttling component 1064 may be provided between the condenser 1062 and the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser 1031, and / or between the inlet of the compressor 1061 and the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser 1031.

[0104] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the cooling component 106 can be configured separately for the gas condenser 1031, or the gas condenser 1031 already in the precooling device 104 can be used, or it can be understood as: Figures 7 to 10 As shown, the pre-cooling device 104 and the gas condenser 1031 can share the cooling component 106 .

[0105] exist Figure 7 and Figure 8 In the illustrated embodiment, the cooling component 106, the portion of the precooling device 104 through which the refrigerant circulates, and the gas condenser 1031 may be connected in sequence, which may be regarded as a series connection, so that the portion of the precooling device 104 through which the refrigerant circulates can be connected to the first circulation path involved above, that is, in the first circulation path, the cooling component 106, the refrigerant inlet of the precooling device 104, the refrigerant outlet of the precooling device 104, the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser 1031, the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser 1031 and the cooling component 106 are directly or indirectly connected in sequence.

[0106] In the specific implementation process, Figure 8 For example, the refrigerant enters the precooling device 104 after passing through the throttling component 1064, flows out of the precooling device 104 and enters the gas condenser 1031, and then flows out and enters the compressor 1061, performing a closed cycle.

[0107] exist Fig. 9 and Fig.10 In the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the precooling device 104 are respectively connected to the cooling component 106 to form a second circulation path between the cooling component 106 and the precooling device 104, which can be regarded as the precooling device 104 and the gas condenser 1031 being respectively connected in parallel to the cooling component 106.

[0108] In the specific implementation process, Fig.10 For example, the refrigerant can be divided into two paths at point A, one path passes through the throttling component and enters the pre-cooling device 104; the other path passes through the throttling component and enters the gas condenser 1031. The two refrigerants can converge at point B and enter the compressor 1061 for a closed cycle.

[0109] In other embodiments, the condensation structure 102 may also be a semiconductor refrigeration structure for achieving semiconductor refrigeration.

[0110] For one implementation, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 8 and Fig.10 The system further includes a heat dissipation device 112 and a solenoid valve 113 disposed between the condensation chamber 102 and the precooling device 104. In other examples, only the heat dissipation device 112 or the solenoid valve 113 may be provided.

[0111] In one implementation, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Fig.10 and Fig.13 The system may further include: a vacuum pump 114 and a gas flow meter 115.

[0112] After the liquid refrigerant enters the heat dissipation device 112, it can enter the precooling device 104 through the electromagnetic valve 113 for precooling and then enter the balloon 105. The gas returns and can be sucked by the vacuum pump 9, and then flows through the gas flow meter 115 and is discharged.

[0113] In one implementation, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Fig.10 and Fig.13 The system also includes a solenoid valve 111 arranged between the gas source 101 and the condensation chamber 102. Further, it may also include a liquid level sensor 108 and a liquid level control switch 109 for detecting the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant collected in the condensation chamber 102. The liquid level sensor 108 is connected to the liquid level control switch 109, and the liquid level control switch 109 is connected to the solenoid valve 111.

[0114] The on / off of the solenoid valve 111 can be controlled according to the liquid level detected by the liquid level sensor 108, thereby achieving the effect of continuously replenishing the gas source.

[0115] In one implementation, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Fig.10 and Fig.13 The system further includes a gas filter 111 and a gas pressure regulating device 110 disposed between the gas source 101 and the condensation chamber 102. In other examples, only the gas filter 111 or the gas pressure regulating device 110 may be provided.

[0116] Combined with the above description, if the refrigerant is N2O, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 8 and Fig.10The working process of the embodiment using the gas condenser 1031 can be, for example:

[0117] After the gas source gas 1 passes through the gas pressure regulating device 110, it reaches a working pressure of 400-700 psi. After entering the gas filter 110 for filtration, the gas source gas enters the condensation chamber 102 through the solenoid valve 111. There is a gas condenser 1031 in the condensation chamber 102, and its surface is at a low temperature (for example, -20°C), which can capture water vapor in the gas and make the water vapor condense into ice and adhere to the surface of the gas condenser 1031. The high-pressure N2O gas condenses into liquid at a low temperature and is retained in the lower part of the condensation shell 116 under the action of gravity. The non-condensable gas contained in the gas (such as N2, etc.) is retained in the gap between the condensation shell 116 and the upper part of the gas condenser 1031; the liquid N2O enters the heat dissipation device 112, enters the pre-cooling device 104 through the solenoid valve 113 for pre-cooling, and then enters the balloon 105. The gas returns and is sucked by the vacuum pump 114 and discharged after passing through the gas flowmeter 115.

[0118] Please refer to Figures 11 to 13 In another embodiment, the condensation structure 103 includes an inner liner 1032 for forming the condensation chamber 102, and the inner liner 1032 is used for:

[0119] The inner surface of the inner liner 1032 is utilized to exchange heat with the condensation chamber 102 , so as to provide a cold source for forming the low-temperature environment, and to make the water vapor condense and adhere to the inner surface of the inner liner 1032 .

[0120] The cooling capacity of the inner tank 1032 can be provided by any structure, for example, it can be the cooling component mentioned above, or it can be provided by the pre-cooling device 104.

[0121] For specific implementation, please refer to Figures 11 to 13 The precooling device 104 includes an outer tank 1042 in which a refrigerant flows and a precooling pipeline 1041 arranged in the outer tank 1042. Furthermore, the refrigerant inlet and refrigerant outlet of the precooling device 104 mentioned above can also be understood as the refrigerant inlet and refrigerant outlet of the outer tank 1042.

[0122] The inner tank 1032 is also disposed in the outer tank 1042 , and one end of the precooling pipeline 1041 is connected to the condensation chamber 102 to receive the liquid refrigerant discharged from the condensation chamber 102 .

[0123] A refrigerant flows in the outer liner 1042 , and the inner liner 1032 is further used to: utilize the outer surface of the inner liner 1032 to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing in the outer liner 1042 , and conduct the cold energy of the outer surface of the inner liner 1032 to the inner surface of the inner liner 1032 .

[0124] The inner liner 1032 itself can realize the function of capturing water vapor. In the specific implementation process, the metal breathable filler 1033 can also be used to simultaneously realize the function of capturing water vapor, that is: in the specific implementation process, the condensation structure 103 also includes a metal breathable filler 1033 connected to the inner liner 1032, which can also conduct heat with the inner liner 1032, thereby achieving a cooling effect.

[0125] Taking N2O as the refrigerant, its working principle can be as follows:

[0126] When the gas source enters the precooling device 104, it first enters the condensation volume 102 in the inner liner 1032, passes through the breathable filler 1033, and then enters the precooling pipeline 1041. The breathable filler 1033 can be, for example, a breathable filler made of other compositions such as foam copper or stainless steel wire. The refrigerant enters the cavity surrounded by the outer liner 1042 from the refrigerant inlet, and cools the precooling pipeline 1041 and the inner liner 1032 at the same time. The inner liner 1032 and the breathable filler 1033 obtain low temperatures, which can capture the water vapor entering the condensation volume 102 in the inner liner 1032, achieving a gas drying and filtering effect, and at the same time, the gas is cooled to a liquid refrigerant that enters the precooling pipeline 1041 and is transported to the balloon 105 at the end.

[0127] In addition to the above description, Fig.13 In the embodiment shown, the use of the gas source 101, the gas pressure regulating device 110, the filter 111, the heat dissipation device 112, the solenoid valve 113, the vacuum pump 114 and the gas flow meter 115 is similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIG. Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Fig.10 The embodiments shown are similar, so they will not be described again here.

[0128] In addition, after the water vapor in the gas source is captured, liquid water can be obtained. After long-term use, more and more water accumulates, which will affect the subsequent cryoablation effect. Therefore, the captured water vapor needs to be discharged quickly so as not to affect the subsequent cryoablation effect.

[0129] Therefore, in one embodiment, the system further includes a drainage structure; the drainage structure is used to heat the liquid accumulated water obtained by capturing water vapor by the condensation structure into a water vapor form when drainage is required, and to discharge the liquid accumulated water in the water vapor form.

[0130] In a specific example, electric heating and control can be used to quickly drain the accumulated water. In other examples, semiconductor refrigeration can be used to capture water vapor at the cold end, and then phase change (i.e., reverse connection of positive and negative poles) is performed, and the cold end is next to the hot end, and the accumulated water is drained using the hot end and control method.

[0131] In summary, the present invention has found through research on the cryoablation system that the reason for the balloon blockage is that the target gas, such as N2O gas, provided by the gas source is not pure enough, and contains water vapor and non-condensable gas such as N2 gas. Taking the target gas as N2O gas and the non-condensable gas as N2 gas as an example, when the water is throttled and cooled with N2O, it is easy to freeze and cause the flow channel to be blocked, resulting in the balloon temperature not being able to drop and shrinking, thereby affecting the surgical effect. When the non-condensable gas is throttled and cooled together with N2O, it affects the freezing effect of the balloon.

[0132] Furthermore, in the cryoablation system provided by the present invention, through the condensation structure and the condensation cavity, while condensing to form a low-temperature refrigerant, water vapor in the gas source gas can also be captured, thereby improving the purity of the target gas such as N2O gas, thereby eliminating or reducing the phenomenon of balloon clogging or shrinkage, so as to achieve a better ablation effect. In a further scheme, the gap between the gas condenser and the top of the condensation cavity can also be used to accommodate the non-condensable gas in the gas source gas, and then, the water vapor in the gas source gas and the non-condensable gas such as N2 gas can be separated, thereby improving the purity of the target gas such as N2O gas, fundamentally eliminating the phenomenon of balloon clogging or shrinkage, so as to achieve a better ablation effect.

[0133] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cryoablation system, comprising: The air source, the balloon and the precooling device disposed between the air source and the air inlet of the balloon are characterized in that they further include: a condensation chamber and a condensation structure; The inlet of the condensation chamber is used to connect the gas source gas provided by the gas source, the low-temperature environment formed in the condensation chamber can condense the target gas in the gas source gas into a liquid refrigerant, and collect the liquid refrigerant at the bottom of the condensation chamber, the outlet of the condensation chamber is used to discharge the collected liquid refrigerant, so that the discharged liquid refrigerant can be precooled by the precooling device, and the condensation structure is used to form the low-temperature environment in the condensation chamber and capture the water vapor in the condensation chamber; The condensation structure includes a gas condenser disposed in the condensation chamber, and the gas condenser is used for: The outer surface of the gas condenser is used to exchange heat with the condensation chamber to provide a cold source for forming the low-temperature environment, and the water vapor is condensed and attached to the outer surface of the gas condenser; The gas condenser is spaced from the top of the condensation chamber so as to accommodate the non-condensable gas in the gas source gas by using the space; The condensation structure further includes an inner container for forming the condensation chamber, and the inner container is used for: The inner surface of the inner container is used to exchange heat with the condensation chamber to provide a cold source for forming the low-temperature environment, and the water vapor is condensed and attached to the inner surface of the inner container.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes a cooling component, and the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser are directly or indirectly connected to the cooling component respectively to form a first circulation path between the cooling component and the gas condenser, and the refrigerant can be cooled by the cooling component when flowing to the cooling component.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that The refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the precooling device are respectively connected to the cooling component to form a second circulation passage between the cooling component and the precooling device.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that In the first circulation path, the cooling component, the refrigerant inlet of the precooling device, the refrigerant outlet of the precooling device, the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser, the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser are directly or indirectly connected to the cooling component in sequence.

5. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that The cooling component includes a compressor and a condenser, the inlet of the compressor is directly or indirectly connected to the refrigerant outlet of the gas condenser, the outlet of the compressor is connected to the inlet of the condenser, and the outlet of the condenser is directly or indirectly connected to the refrigerant inlet of the gas condenser.

6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: It also includes a condensing shell for forming the condensing cavity, the condensing shell has a shell flow cavity, the gas condenser includes a plurality of plates connected to the inner wall of the condensing shell, the plates have a plate flow cavity, and the shell flow cavity is respectively connected to the plate flow cavities of the plurality of plates so that the refrigerant can flow to each plate through the shell flow cavity.

7. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The precooling device comprises an outer tank with a refrigerant flowing therein and a precooling pipeline arranged in the outer tank, the inner tank is also arranged in the outer tank, and one end of the precooling pipeline is connected to the condensing chamber to receive the liquid refrigerant discharged from the condensing chamber; Refrigerant flows in the outer liner, and the inner liner is also used to: utilize the outer surface of the inner liner to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing in the outer liner, and conduct the cold energy of the outer surface of the inner liner to the inner surface of the inner liner; the condensation structure also includes a metal breathable filler connected to the inner liner.

8. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7, characterized in that: It also includes a solenoid valve arranged between the gas source and the condensation chamber.

9. The system according to claim 8, characterized in that It also includes a liquid level sensor and a liquid level control switch for detecting the liquid level of the liquid refrigerant collected in the condensation chamber. The liquid level sensor is connected to the liquid level control switch, and the liquid level control switch is connected to the solenoid valve.

10. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7, characterized in that: It also includes a gas filter and / or a gas pressure regulating device arranged between the gas source and the condensation chamber.

11. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7, characterized in that: It also includes a drainage structure; the drainage structure is used to heat the liquid accumulated water obtained by capturing water vapor by the condensation structure into a water vapor form when drainage is required, and to discharge the liquid accumulated water in the water vapor form.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Cryoablation system

    CN211094645U