System for inducing desirable temperature effects on body tissue

摘要

SYSTEM FOR INDUCING DESIRABLE TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON BODY TISSUE There is disclosed herein a system for inducing desirable temperature effects on a target body tissue disposed about a blood vessel, the system comprising: a catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end with an axis therebetween; a radially expandable member supported by the distal end of the catheter body, the expandable member having a low profile insertion configuration and a larger profile configuration; and a plurality of electrodes included on a plurality of separate flexible circuits each attached to an outer surface of the expandable member so as to radially couple with a wall of the blood vessel and define a plurality of remodeling zones in a tissue treatment area when the expandable member is in the large profile configuration within the blood vessel, wherein the plurality of electrodes are distributed circumferentially about the balloon such that the plurality of remodeling zones extend about the circumference of the blood vessel, wherein each of the plurality of flexible circuits includes a polymeric substrate supporting at least one pair of electrodes; wherein the plurality of electrodes are configured to transmit a tissue remodeling energy to each of the plurality of remodeling zones such that when at least some remodeling zones of the plurality include collateral tissue without the target body tissue, the tissue remodeling energy is transmitted to the at least some remodeling zones heating the collateral tissue without causing thermal damage, while the tissue remodeling energy transmitted to remodeling zones including both the target tissue and collateral tissue heats the target tissue sufficiently to efficaciously alter the target tissue without causing thermal damage to the collateral healthy tissue.