Patent attributes
Cryosurgical apparatus includes an elongate cryoprobe having an electrically conductive first portion and multiple cooling elements. A removable sheath having an electrically conductive second portion is received on the cryoprobe with its electrically conductive second portion spaced from the electrically conductive first portion of the cryoprobe. Electrical insulation is interposed between the first portion and the second portion. In operation, cooling elements in the cryoprobe cool the tissue around a portion of the cryoprobe while electromagnetic energy traveling between the first portion and the second portion heats tissue adjacent to the cooled tissue. The cooling alters the path of the electromagnetic energy by changing the electrical conductivity of the tissue in the region of the cryoprobe.
