(54) ENDOTHELIUM PRESERVING MICROWAVE TREATMENT FOR ATHEROSCLEROIS
(75) Inventors: James R. Carl, Houston; G. Dickey
Arndt, Friendswood; Patrick W. Fink,
Fresno; N. Reginald Beer, Houston;
Phillip D. Henry, Houston; Antonio
Paciflco, Houston; George W. Raffoul,
Houston, all of TX (US)
(73) Assignee: The United States of America as
represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 09/501,150
(22) Filed: Feb. 9, 2000
Related U.S. Application Data
(60) Division of application No. 09/129,832, filed on Aug. 5, 1998, now Pat. No. 6,047,216, which is a continuation-inpart of application No. 08/641,045, filed on Apr. 17, 1996, now Pat. No. 5,904,709.
(51) Int. CI. A61F 2/00
(52) U.S. CI 607/101; 607/102; 607/122;
607/154; 606/33
(58) Field of Search 607/89, 100-102,
607/115-116, 122-123, 154-156; 606/33^12, 45-50; 604/22; 128/898
Method and apparatus are provided to treat atherosclerosis wherein the artery is partially closed by dilating the artery while preserving the vital and sensitive endothelial layer thereof. Microwave energy having a frequency from 3 GHz to 300 GHz is propagated into the arterial wall to produce a desired temperature profile therein at tissue depths sufficient for thermally necrosing connective tissue and softening fatty and waxy plaque while limiting heating of surrounding tissues including the endothelial layer and/or other healthy tissue, organs, and blood. The heating period for raising the temperature a potentially desired amount about 20° C, within the atherosclerotic lesion may be less than about one second. In one embodiment of the invention, a radically beveled waveguide antenna is used to deliver microwave energy at frequencies from 25 GHz or 30 GHz to about 300 GHz and is focused towards a particular radial sector of the artery. Because the atherosclerotic lesions are often asymmetrically disposed, directable or focussed heating preserves healthy sectors of the artery and applies energy to the asymmetrically positioned lesion faster than a non-directed beam. A computer simulation predicts isothermic temperature profiles for the given conditions and may be used in selecting power, pulse duration, beam width, and frequency of operation to maximize energy deposition and control heat rise within the atherosclerotic lesion without harming healthy tissues or the sensitive endothelium cells.
16 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets
