Guidewire with centering mechanism

• US 10,226,597 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2014
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Millett, Bret
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Brandy S
• Application Number:
  US14/201,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20140257248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,831 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/1047 having centering means, e.g. balloons having an appropriate shape
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/04 in the body, e.g. expansible A61M25/10, A61M16/0488 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/09041 Mechanisms for insertion of guide wires

Abstract

The invention provides a guidewire with a centering mechanism. The mechanism lifts the guidewire from a vessel wall and biases it towards the center of the vessel. Since the guidewire can be selectively lifted away from the vessel wall, scraping the catheter against the wall can be avoided, the tip can be guided into the correct branch of a bifurcation, and an imaging device can be used to its full potential. In certain aspects, the invention provides a guidewire with an elongated shaft with a proximal portion and a distal portion comprising a distal tip. One or more centering mechanism can be provided on a guidewire.

Claims

1. A guidewire for an intravascular procedure, the guidewire comprising:

an elongated shaft with a proximal portion and a distal portion comprising a closed distal tip, wherein the distal portion is configured to be inserted into a vessel in a body; and

a centering mechanism at the distal portion operable to bias a portion of the guidewire towards the center of the vessel, the centering mechanism comprising a structure that can be expanded away from or contracted towards the guidewire;

wherein the centering mechanism does not occlude blood flow through the vessel;

wherein the centering mechanism comprises a plurality of balloons that each inflate into a spheroid shape; and

wherein the guidewire is sized and shaped to extend through a lumen of a catheter such that the catheter is configured to move within the vessel over the guidewire.

2. The guidewire of claim 1, further comprising an imaging device.

3. The guidewire of claim 1, wherein the vessel is an artery or vein.

4. The guidewire of claim 1, wherein the closed distal tip is spaced from the centering mechanism.

5. A coronary intervention system comprising:

a catheter comprising a treatment device; and

a guidewire comprising a closed distal tip and a centering mechanism, the centering mechanism comprising a structure that can be expanded away from or contracted towards the guidewire, wherein the centering mechanism does not occlude blood flow through a blood vessel, wherein the centering mechanism comprises a plurality of balloons that each inflate into a spheroid shape, and

wherein the guidewire is configured to be inserted into the blood vessel and the catheter is configured to be slid over the guidewire to carry the treatment device to a treatment site.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the centering mechanism is disposed at a distal portion of the guidewire and operable to bias the distal portion of the guidewire towards the center of the vessel.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the treatment device comprises a stent.

8. A method of performing angioplasty, the method comprising:

inserting a guidewire into a vessel of a patient, the guidewire comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion comprises a closed distal tip;

operating a centering mechanism disposed at the distal portion to bias the distal portion towards the center of the vessel, wherein the centering mechanism does not occlude blood flow through a blood vessel, and wherein the centering mechanism comprises a plurality of balloons that each inflate into a spheroid shape; and

using the guidewire to introduce a catheter into a treatment site within the vessel, wherein the catheter is advanced over the guidewire into the treatment site.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the catheter is introduced prior to operating the centering mechanism.