Importance

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Abstract

A medical probe device including a catheter having a stylet guide housing with one or more stylet ports in a side wall thereof and a for directing a flexible stylet outward through the stylet port and through intervening tissue at a preselected, adjustable angle to a target tissue. The total catheter assembly includes a stylet guide lumen communicating with the stylet port and a stylet positioned in said stylet guide lumen for longitudinal movement from the port through intervening tissue to a target tissue. The stylet can be an electrical conductor enclosed within a non-conductive layer, the electrical conductor being a radio frequency electrode. During the ablation operation, the tissue immediately adjacent the stylet can become desiccated, thereby necessitating an increase of current flow and a loss of ablation efficiency. A forward and reverse movement of the non-conductive sleeve on the stylet during an operation frees the stylet from sticking tissue and creates a space around the electrode to allow the tissue to rehydrate.

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First Claim