System and method of adventitial tissue characterization

• US 10,231,698 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2017
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Nair, Anuja
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Carol
• Application Number:
  US15/457,795
• Publication Number:
  US 20170245829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/22 Implements for squeezing-off ulcers or the like on the inside of inner organs of the body; Implements for scraping-out cavities of body organs, e.g. bones; Calculus removers; Calculus smashing apparatus; Apparatus for removing obstructions in blood vessels, not otherwise provided for dilators A61M29/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/22094 for crossing total occlusions, i.e. piercing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0041 Removal of thrombosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00577 Ablation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00982 combined with or comprising means for visual or photographic inspections inside the body, e.g. endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/085 for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood vessels, nodules
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• 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: A61B 8/445 Details of catheter construction
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5215 involving processing of medical diagnostic data
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a system and method for characterizing adventitial tissue. In one aspect, a system and method is disclosed that characterizes tissue types within the adventitial tissue including nerve bundles and blood vessels. In a further aspect, the adventitia is imaged and characterized to provide guidance for crossing lesions within an occluded vessel.

Claims

1. A method for intravascular image guided therapy, comprising:

activating an intravascular imaging device to obtain image data of a blood vessel;

receiving, at a computing device in communication with the intravascular imaging device, the image data;

performing, by the computing device, tissue characterization on the image data in real time to identify and characterize adventitial tissue surrounding the blood vessel,

where the tissue characterization includes transforming the image data into the frequency domain to identify a specific frequency spectrum of a region of interest of the image data, determining at least one parameter of the region of interest of the image data based on the transformed image data, and associating each parameter with a degree of ablation;

outputting, to a display in communication with the computing device, an image of the blood vessel based on the image data; and

alerting a user to a presence of the adventitial tissue in real time based on the tissue characterization and positioning a therapy device within the blood vessel based on the alerting to avoid rupturing the blood vessel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

positioning the intravascular imaging device within the blood vessel; and

positioning the therapy device within the blood vessel.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising

repositioning the therapy device in response to the alerting the user to the presence of the adventitial tissue such that the therapy device does not intersect the adventitial tissue.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the therapy device is a chronic total occlusion crossing device, and wherein the repositioning of the therapy device includes changing a longitudinal direction of the chronic total occlusion crossing device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the therapy device is an ablation device, and wherein the repositioning of the therapy device includes changing a longitudinal or radial position of the ablation device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

defining a longitudinal direction of the therapy device, and wherein the alerting comprises alerting to the user to the presence of the adventitial tissue in the longitudinal direction of the therapy device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing tissue characterization includes identifying nerve bundles within the adventitial tissue, and wherein the image includes the identified nerve bundles.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein image data includes perivascular tissue surrounding the blood vessel, wherein performing tissue characterization includes identifying nerve bundles within the perivascular tissue, and wherein the image includes the identified nerve bundles.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein performing tissue characterization includes identifying vasa vasorum within the adventitial tissue, and wherein the image includes the identified vasa vasorum.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein performing tissue characterization includes identifying muscle tissue within the adventitial tissue, and wherein the image includes the identified muscle tissue.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the image comprises an axial cross section of the blood vessel showing tissue characterization within the adventitial tissue.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the image comprises a longitudinal cross sectional view of the blood vessel showing tissue characterization within the adventitial tissue.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein performing tissue characterization includes correlating signal properties of the image data with the adventitial tissue having signature signal properties similar to the signal properties.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein performing tissue characterization is performed as the therapy device crosses a chronic total occlusion in the blood vessel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein activating the intravascular imaging device to obtain the image data of the blood vessel is performed as the therapy device crosses a chronic total occlusion in the blood vessel.

16. An intravascular system, comprising:

an intravascular imaging device operable to obtain image data of a blood vessel while positioned within the blood vessel;

a computing device in communication with the intravascular imaging device, the computing device operable to;

receive image data of the blood vessel obtained by the intravascular imaging device;

perform tissue characterization on the image data in real time to identify and characterize adventitial tissue of the blood vessel, where the tissue characterization includes transforming the image data into the frequency domain to identify a specific frequency spectrum of a region of interest of the image data, determining at least one parameter of the region of interest of the image data based on the transformed image data, and associating each parameter with a degree of ablation;

output, to a display in communication with the computing device, an image of the blood vessel based on the image data; and

alert a user to a presence of the adventitial tissue in real time based on the tissue characterization and positioning of a therapy device within the blood vessel based on the alerting to avoid rupturing the blood vessel.

17. The intravascular system of claim 16, further comprising:

the therapy device operable to perform a therapy while positioned within the blood vessel and be repositioned longitudinally and/or axially in response to the alerting.

18. The intravascular system of claim 17, wherein the therapy device comprises a chronic total occlusion crossing device.

19. The intravascular system of claim 17, wherein the therapy device comprises an ablation device.

20. The intravascular system of claim 16, wherein the intravascular imaging device is a forward-looking intravascular imaging device.