Appeal No. 1999-2540
Application 08/770,411
examiner’s conjecture that the temperature of the electrode
might rise above a desired value upon termination of the radio
frequency energy. This deficiency finds no cure in Neilson.
Neilson discloses “a urethral catheter for thermal
treatment of BPH [benign prostatic hyperplasia] which is
capable of selectively directing microwave energy toward
tumorous prostatic tissue growth anterior and lateral to the
urethra, while sparing the urethra and healthy tissue
posterior to the urethra from thermal damage” (column 3, lines
5 through 11). The catheter includes a flexible shaft having
a lumen for a microwave antenna and intake and exhaust lumens
for a cooling fluid. Neilson teaches that “[a]t the
conclusion of microwave thermal therapy treatment period,
cooled water from the cooling system is continuously pumped
through the intake and exhaust lumens for about 10 to about
120 minutes to reduce edema of the treated tissues, thereby
eliminating the need to insert a post-thermal therapy drain
catheter” (column 3, lines 63 through 68). The therapy
procedure is discussed in detail at column 8, line 14
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