Cryoablation Probes With Mild Heating Envelope
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cryoablation techniques face challenges in accurately delimiting the ablation volume and minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues, as the border between the ablation volume and damage envelope is not directly visible under known imaging modalities, leading to incomplete and inefficient treatments.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using a system of cryoprobes with independently controllable treatment modules that can both cool and heat, positioned to create a sharp temperature gradient around the target, allowing for real-time visualization and precise control of the cryoablation volume, while a protective envelope of mildly heated tissue minimizes damage to surrounding tissues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cryoprobes are cooled to cryoablation temperatures to destroy target tissue, then the ablation effectiveness is improved, but the damage to surrounding healthy tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating distinct thermal zones with different temperature characteristics. The ablation zone is maintained at cryogenic temperatures (below -40°C) for complete tissue destruction, while a protective envelope zone is maintained at mild heating temperatures (37-42°C) to prevent damage to healthy tissues. This spatial differentiation of thermal conditions allows simultaneous achievement of effective ablation and tissue protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary anti-action by pre-heating the protective envelope zone before and during the cryoablation process. By establishing this warm barrier in advance, the system prevents the spread of cryogenic damage to healthy tissues before such damage can occur, counteracting the harmful thermal diffusion that would otherwise extend beyond the target ablation zone.
2Reliability
If the cryoablation temperature is lowered to ensure complete destruction of target tissue, then the reliability of tissue destruction is improved, but the volume of damaged surrounding tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates spatially differentiated thermal zones where the ablation zone experiences extreme cold temperatures for complete tissue destruction, while the surrounding protective envelope zone experiences mild heating that prevents tissue damage. This local quality differentiation ensures that the volume of damaged tissue is minimized while maintaining complete destruction within the target ablation zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective envelope zone acts as an intermediary thermal barrier between the cryogenic ablation zone and the healthy surrounding tissues. This intermediate zone, maintained at physiological or slightly elevated temperatures, mediates the thermal interaction and prevents the propagation of cryogenic damage, thereby reducing the volume of inadvertently damaged tissue.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple cryoprobes are used to precisely target the ablation volume, then the manufacturing precision of the treatment is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cryoprobe system is designed with multi-functionality, where each probe can independently control cooling at its tip while also providing or facilitating heating in surrounding zones. This universal capability allows a single integrated system to perform both ablation and protective functions, reducing the need for separate dedicated devices and simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining precise spatial control.
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment system is segmented into multiple independently controllable cryoprobes, each capable of precise positioning and individual temperature control. This segmentation allows for precise targeting of the ablation volume through coordinated action of multiple probes, while each probe's independent control simplifies the management of overall system complexity by allowing modular operation.
4Measurement precision
If the border of the ablation volume is made visible through imaging modalities, then the measurement precision of the treatment border is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes thermal contrast visualization where the protective envelope zone appears as a distinct warm zone (analogous to color change) surrounding the cold ablation zone. This thermal signature difference makes the ablation border directly visible on thermal imaging modalities, providing clear visual demarcation without requiring complex image processing or indirect estimation methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective envelope zone serves as a visual intermediary that marks the boundary between the ablation zone and healthy tissues. By maintaining this zone at a distinct temperature (mild heating), it creates a detectable thermal signature that acts as a visible border indicator, simplifying the detection and measurement of the ablation volume extent on imaging modalities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables accurate and controlled cryoablation with reduced damage to healthy tissues, allowing for precise targeting of the intended cryoablation volume and real-time visualization of the treatment border, enhancing treatment efficacy and minimizing collateral tissue damage.
Implementation Method 1
cooling the first set of treatment modules to cryoablation temperatures, thereby cryoablating tissues within the cryoablation target
Implementation Method 2
heating the second set of treatment modules during the cooling of the first set of treatment modules, thereby preventing cooling of tissues surrounding the cryoablation target
Implementation Method 3
creating a sharp temperature gradient at a vicinity of the shaped border of the cryoablation target, thereby sharply delimiting the cryoablation volume
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is of a system and method for accurate cryoablation, useable to enhance a surgeon's ability to accurately cryoablate a selected cryoablation target and to limit cryoablation to that selected target. Presented are apparatus and method for accurately delimiting a cryoablation volume, for minimizing damage to tissues surrounding a cryoablation volume, and for real-time visualization of a border of a cryoablation volume during cryoablation. Also presented are a method for mildly heating tissues during cryoablation, cryoprobes operable to simultaneously cool first tissues while heating second tissues, and cryoprobes operable to cool tissues extending in a first lateral direction from those probes while not substantially cooling tissues extending in a second lateral direction from those probes.