Patent attributes
A balloon is provided for selectively moving an esophagus away from an ablation site. The balloon is received through an oral cavity and into the esophagus of a patient. A deflecting member is provided in the tube, the balloon, or both, so as to selectively distort to bend the balloon and/or the tube to move the esophagus away from the ablation site. The deflecting member may comprise at least one of a strip made of a shape memory material that is responsive to the receipt of a stimulus to deflect to a predetermined shape, a strip that is made of or contains a ferrous material and that deflects in response to the presence of a magnetic field, and a selectively tensionable cable, wire, or string. The deflecting member may be supplemented by a stiffening strip that is located in the balloon and that causes the balloon to expand circumferentially and asymmetrically when inflated.
