Appeal 2007-0586
Application 10/387,812
Appellants claim a surgical tool for ablating tissue. The tool has a
heat sink in thermal communication with the ablation needles. The heat sink
is provided with cooling flow from a fluid coolant system.
Claim 1, reproduced below, is further illustrative of the claim subject
matter
1. A medical probe assembly for ablating tissue, comprising:
an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end;
one or more needle electrodes extending from the distal end of the
shaft;
a heat sink disposed within the distal end of the shaft in thermal
communication with the one or more needle electrodes; and
a coolant flow conduit disposed within the shaft in fluid
communication with the heat sink.
The references relied upon by the Examiner as evidence of
obviousness are:
Morrison, Jr. US 4,074,718 Feb. 21, 1978
Lorentzen US 5,951,546 Sep. 14, 1999
Gough US 6,500,175 B1 Dec. 31, 2002
Levine US 2003/0114847 A1 Jun. 19, 2003
Laufer US 6,629,951 B2 Oct. 7, 2003
Claims 1-3, 6, and 7 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as
unpatentable over Morrison in view of Laufer.
2
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