Abstract: A method and apparatus of treating tissue adjacent to a bodily conduit using thermotherapy, while preventing obstructions of the bodily conduit due to edema employs the circulation of warmed fluid to maintain the temperature of the bodily conduit walls and compresses the tissue to be treated to increase the effectiveness of the irradiated heat. An energy-emitting source containing catheter is inserted in a bodily conduit and is positioned in a region of the tissue to be treated so that the energy-emitting source radiates energy to the tissue to be treated. Fluid warmed to over 30° C. is circulated into and through the catheter to warm walls of the bodily conduit adjacent the catheter. The circulated fluid inflates a balloon to a pressure to compress the tissue to be treated. The combination of warmed fluid over 30° C.

Abstract: A monopole phased array thermotherapy applicator radiating radiofrequency energy for inducing a temperature rise in a target within a body includes a plurality of monopole elements each for transmitting electric-field radiation; a metallic waveguide with an RF reflecting ground plane surface with a plurality of circular holes for mounting the monopole elements where the metallic waveguide forms an aperture for receiving a body to be treated; a waveform generator providing a source of electric field coupled to each monopole radiating element through a respective phase and power weighting network; at least one electric field probe positioned on a skin surface of the body for detecting electric field radiation from the plurality of monopole elements; and a controller circuit coupled to the electric field probe received feedback signals to adjust the phase and power delivered to the plurality of monopole elements so that one or more adaptive nulls are formed on the surface of the body and a focus is formed at the

Abstract: Improvements in safety and efficacy for externally focused adaptive phased array microwave thermotherapy (hyperthermia) for treatment of cancer and benign conditions of an organ or an appendage are described. In order to reduce blood flow thereby accumulating additional equivalent thermal dose following the step of heating an organ or appendage by irradiating microwaves at the organ or appendage, the step of compressing the organ or appendage following the heating step is added to thermotherapy treatment. In a preferred embodiment, the organ is the prostate and periodic prostate compression is employed to reduce the prostate blood flow thereby allowing chemotherapy, thermosensitive liposome-encapsulated chemotherapy, or gene therapy to accumulate in the prostate region during thermotherapy.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that increases safety when employing externally focused adaptive phased array microwave thermotherapy (hyperthermia) for breast cancer treatment include microwave absorbing pads and metallic shielding to prevent undesired or stray surface tissue heating and to cushion the breast from mechanical pressure during breast compression. The microwave absorbing pads are attached on the top of the microwave waveguide thermotherapy applicators and on top of the breast compression paddles. A metallic-shielding strip mounted across the top portion of the microwave applicator aperture acts to block microwave radiation from illuminating the base of the breast and chest wall area. The patient treatment table utilizes a metallic shield to shield the body from stray microwave radiation. Combined E-field and temperature sensors within a single catheter are used to require only a single minimally invasive skin entry point for E-field focusing and measurement of the tumor temperature.

Abstract: A method for treating cancerous or benign conditions of a body or organ employs selective irradiation of the body tissue with energy. The method includes the steps of monitoring temperatures of the skin surface adjacent the body, positioning at least one energy applicator around the body, delivering energy to the at least one energy applicator to selectively irradiate the body tissue with energy and treat at least one of cancerous and benign conditions of the body, adjusting the level of power to be delivered to the at least one energy applicator during treatment based on the monitored skin temperatures, monitoring the energy delivered to the at least one energy applicator, determining total energy delivered to the at least one energy applicator, and completing the treatment when the desired total energy dose has been delivered by the at least one energy applicator to the body.

Abstract: A monopole phased array thermotherapy applicator radiating radiofrequency energy for inducing a temperature rise in a target within a body includes a plurality of monopole elements each for transmitting electric-field radiation; a metallic waveguide with an RF reflecting ground plane surface with a plurality of circular holes for mounting the monopole elements where the metallic waveguide forms an aperture for receiving a body to be treated; a waveform generator providing a source of electric field coupled to each monopole radiating element through a respective phase and power weighting network; at least one electric field probe positioned on a skin surface of the body for detecting electric field radiation from the plurality of monopole elements; and a controller circuit coupled to the electric field probe received feedback signals to adjust the phase and power delivered to the plurality of monopole elements so that one or more adaptive nulls are formed on the surface of the body and a focus is formed at the

Abstract: A method for treating cancerous or benign conditions of an organ includes the steps of inserting an E-field probe sensor to a depth in the organ tissue, monitoring temperatures of the skin surface adjacent the organ, positioning two or more energy applicators around the organ, setting the initial relative phase delivered to each energy applicator to focus the energy at the E-field probe positioned in the organ tissue, delivering energy to the applicators to selectively irradiate the organ tissue, adjusting the power level to be delivered to each applicator during treatment based on the monitored skin temperatures, monitoring the energy delivered to the applicators, determining total energy delivered to the applicators and displaying the total energy in real time during the treatment, and completing the treatment when the desired total energy dose has been delivered by the energy applicators to the organ. Either focused or non-focused may be employed.

Abstract: An apparatus for treatment of tissue within a body requiring thermotherapy includes a catheter to be inserted into a bodily conduit, an energy-emitting source disposed within the catheter, a compression balloon surrounding the energy-emitting source where the compression balloon has an inflated diameter that is greater than that of the bodily conduit in a relaxed state and an outside surface of the balloon is coated with one of gene modifiers and drug or medication, and means for activating the energy-emitting source to radiate energy to heat the drug-coated compression balloon and tissue to be treated whereby the heated drug-coated compression balloon effectively delivers the one of the gene modifiers and drug or medication to a target area of the diseased tissue. In addition, methods for using the above apparatus to treat diseased tissue are disclosed.

Abstract: Improvements in safety and efficacy for externally focused adaptive phased array microwave thermotherapy (hyperthermia) for treatment of cancer and benign conditions of an organ or an appendage are described. In order to reduce blood flow thereby accumulating additional equivalent thermal dose following the step of heating an organ or appendage by irradiating microwaves at the organ or appendage, the step of compressing the organ or appendage following the heating step is added to thermotherapy treatment. In a preferred embodiment, the organ is the prostate and periodic prostate compression is employed to reduce the prostate blood flow thereby allowing chemotherapy, thermosensitive liposome-encapsulated chemotherapy, or gene therapy to accumulate in the prostate region during thermotherapy.

Abstract: A method for treating cancerous or benign conditions of a body or organ employs selective irradiation of the body tissue with energy. The method includes the steps of monitoring temperatures of the skin surface adjacent the body, positioning at least one energy applicator around the body, delivering energy to the at least one energy applicator to selectively irradiate the body tissue with energy and treat at least one of cancerous and benign conditions of the body, adjusting the level of power to be delivered to the at least one energy applicator during treatment based on the monitored skin temperatures, monitoring the energy delivered to the at least one energy applicator, determining total energy delivered to the at least one energy applicator, and completing the treatment when the desired total energy dose has been delivered by the at least one energy applicator to the body.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of treating tissue adjacent to a bodily conduit using thermotherapy, while preventing obstructions of the bodily conduit due to edema employs the circulation of warmed fluid to maintain the temperature of the bodily conduit walls and compresses the tissue to be treated to increase the effectiveness of the irradiated heat. An energy-emitting source containing catheter is inserted in a bodily conduit and is positioned in a region of the tissue to be treated so that the energy-emitting source radiates energy to the tissue to be treated. Fluid warmed to over 30° C. is circulated into and through the catheter to warm walls of the bodily conduit adjacent the catheter. The circulated fluid inflates a balloon to a pressure to compress the tissue to be treated. The combination of warmed fluid over 30° C.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that increases safety when employing externally focused adaptive phased array microwave thermotherapy (hyperthermia) for breast cancer treatment include microwave absorbing pads and metallic shielding to prevent undesired or stray surface tissue heating and to cushion the breast from mechanical pressure during breast compression. The microwave absorbing pads are attached on the top of the microwave waveguide thermotherapy applicators and on top of the breast compression paddles. A metallic-shielding strip mounted across the top portion of the microwave applicator aperture acts to block microwave radiation from illuminating the base of the breast and chest wall area. The patient treatment table utilizes a metallic shield to shield the body from stray microwave radiation. Combined E-field and temperature sensors within a single catheter are used to require only a single minimally invasive skin entry point for E-field focusing and measurement of the tumor temperature.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for treating cancerous or benign conditions of an organ by selective irradiation of the organ tissue with focused energy.

Abstract: A system and method for safely heating cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions of the prostate, as well as benign and pre-benign lesions (any localized pathological change in the prostate tissue) by irradiation of the prostate tissue with coherent phased array or non-coherent energy is introduced. Microwave energy and prostate compression provide preferential heating of high-water content prostate carcinoma and benign cells in the prostate compared to the surrounding lower-water content normal prostate tissues and tissue surrounding the prostate. To coherently focus the energy, such as microwave energy, in the prostate, the patient's prostate can be compressed via a urethral and rectal balloon and either a single electric-field probe, inserted in the central portion of the prostate, or two noninvasive electric-field sensors on the urethral and rectal walls, can be used to measure a feedback signal to adjust the energy phase delivered to the applicators located in the urethra and in the rectum.

Abstract: A method for selectively heating cancerous conditions of the breast including invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive glandular lobular carcinoma, and pre-cancerous conditions of the breast including ductal carcinoma in-situ, lobular carcinoma in-situ, and intraductal hyperplasia, as well as benign lesions (any localized pathological change in the breast tissue) such as fibroadenomas and cysts by irradiation of the breast tissue with adaptive phased array focused microwave energy is introduced. Microwave energy provides preferential heating of high-water content breast tissues such as carcinomas, fibroadenomas, and cysts compared to the surrounding lower-water content normal breast tissues.