Medical ablation devices and methods

Abstract

Ablation devices, more specifically needle injectors configured to deliver flowable thermal treatment media into an interface with tissue and that can provide a single dose of ablative energy.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for delivering thermal energy to a tissue, the system comprising:
 a probe having an interior chamber containing a volume of a conductive liquid;   a first energy source configured to rapidly heat the conductive liquid to convert the conductive fluid into a subcritical conductive liquid;   a valve in fluid communication between the interior chamber and a flow outlet, where the valve comprises a closed configuration to seal the interior chamber during heating of the conductive liquid and an open configuration that ejects the subcritical conductive liquid out of the flow outlet to the tissue; and   a second energy source adapted to apply energy to the subcritical conductive liquid at the flow outlet to ionize the subcritical conductive liquid.