Cleaning system for medical imaging device
First Claim
1. An imaging catheter device comprising:
- a catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending in a longitudinal direction;
a cleaning member disposed at the distal end of said catheter body; and
an imaging device movably disposed in said lumen and through said cleaning member;
wherein said cleaning member includes a conduit through which said imaging device moves;
wherein said cleaning member further includes a plurality of flexing flaps at least partially occluding the conduit such that said imaging device displaces at least some of the flexing flaps when moved through the conduit to clean said imaging device; and
wherein at least one of the flexing flaps is not aligned in the longitudinal direction with at least one other flexing flap.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging catheter device includes a catheter body with a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen; a cleaning member disposed at the distal end; and an imaging device movably disposed in the lumen and through the cleaning member; wherein the cleaning member includes a conduit through which the imaging device moves and a flexible material at least partially occluding the conduit such that the imaging device displaces at least some of the flexible material when moved through the conduit. A method of cleaning an imaging catheter device includes disposing a cleaning member including a conduit and a flexible material at least partially occluding the conduit at a distal end of a catheter lumen; positioning an imaging device in the catheter lumen; and cleaning the imaging device by moving it through the conduit such that it displaces at least some of the flexible material.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An imaging catheter device comprising:
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a catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending in a longitudinal direction; a cleaning member disposed at the distal end of said catheter body; and an imaging device movably disposed in said lumen and through said cleaning member; wherein said cleaning member includes a conduit through which said imaging device moves; wherein said cleaning member further includes a plurality of flexing flaps at least partially occluding the conduit such that said imaging device displaces at least some of the flexing flaps when moved through the conduit to clean said imaging device; and wherein at least one of the flexing flaps is not aligned in the longitudinal direction with at least one other flexing flap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A cleaning system for a medical imaging device, comprising:
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a housing for positioning at a distal end of the imaging device; and a cleaning member disposed in said housing; wherein said cleaning member comprises; a conduit extending in a longitudinal direction, through which the imaging device moves; and a plurality of flexing flaps at least partially occluding the conduit such that the imaging device displaces at least some of the flexing flaps when moved through the conduit; wherein at least one of the flexing flaps is not aligned in the longitudinal direction with at least one other flexing flap. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of cleaning a medical imaging device, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a cleaning member at a distal end of the medical imaging device, said cleaning member including a conduit extending in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of flexing flaps at least partially occluding the conduit, wherein least one of the flexing flaps is not aligned in the longitudinal direction with at least one other flexing flap; and cleaning the imaging device by moving at least one of the imaging device and the cleaning member relative to the other to move the imaging device through the conduit in said cleaning member such that the imaging device displaces at least some of the flexing flaps. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification