ULTRASONIC DEVICE FOR PROVIDING REVERSIBLE TISSUE DAMAGE TO HEART MUSCLE

摘要

An ultrasonic medical or surgical device (10) creates holes (32) in heart tissue (24) utilizing an ultrasonic needle (20) or probe (34). The needle is inserted into heart tissue (24), and activated to cause cavitation of fluid surrounding the needle. The cavitation (74) heats the surrounding tissue, and causes reversible tissue damage. The ultrasonic device consists of a transducer (38), a needle (20), and a regulator (30). The device can be hand held for external application or may be a catheter device (62) for performing a minimally invasive procedure. A temperature sensor (50) may be positioned on the needle for sensing a temperature of the heart tissue in which the needle has been inserted.