Systems and methods for detecting vulnerable plaque
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A thermography system, comprising:
- a thermography catheter having a thermal sensor on a distal section thereof;
a system controller coupled to the thermal sensor; and
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermal sensor.
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Abstract
A thermography system that can be used in the vasculature of a patient, or elsewhere, with a catheter and an instrument configured to graphically display thermography data from the catheter. Sensors on the catheter may measure blood temperature, wall temperature of a body vessel or both as well as differences between blood temperature and wall temperature. Temperature differences from different locations of a patient'"'"'s body vessel can be measured contemporaneously, compared and displayed on the graphical display which may be a graphic user interface in some embodiments.
130 Citations
69 Claims
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1. A thermography system, comprising:
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a thermography catheter having a thermal sensor on a distal section thereof;
a system controller coupled to the thermal sensor; and
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermal sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A thermography system, comprising:
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a thermography catheter having a thermal sensor on a distal section thereof and a plurality of thermal sensors in a substantially annular array;
a system controller coupled to the thermal sensors; and
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermal sensor in a series of concentric rings divided into circumferential sections with each circumferential section correlating to a distinct thermal sensor and with adjacent rings representing different thermography data points. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A thermography system, comprising:
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a thermography catheter having a thermal sensor on a distal section thereof;
a system controller coupled to the thermal sensor; and
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermal sensor in an annular ring on a screen of the display that is divided into circumferential sections. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A thermography instrument, comprising:
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a system controller coupled to a thermography data input; and
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermography data input. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A thermography instrument, comprising:
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a system controller coupled to a thermography data input; and
a display coupled to the system controller configured to graphically display thermography data from at least one data input in a series of concentric rings divided into circumferential sections with each circumferential section correlating to a distinct thermography data input and with adjacent rings representing different thermography data points. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A thermography instrument, comprising:
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a system controller coupled to a plurality of thermography data inputs; and
a display coupled to the system controller and configured to graphically display thermography data from the data inputs in an annular ring on a screen of the display that is divided into circumferential sections, with each circumferential section corresponding to a distinct thermography data input. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. A method of displaying thermography data, comprising:
providing a thermography system, comprising;
a thermography catheter having a thermal sensor on a distal section thereof;
a system controller coupled to the thermal sensor;
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermal sensor;
positioning the thermography catheter in a body of a patient;
detecting thermography data at the thermal sensor; and
graphically displaying the thermography data on display. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A method of displaying thermography data, comprising:
providing a thermography instrument, comprising;
a system controller coupled to a thermography data input; and
a display configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermography data input;
detecting thermography data from the thermography data input; and
graphically displaying the thermography data on the display. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. An apparatus for measuring the thermal characteristics of blood vessel in vivo, comprising:
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a catheter having a proximal end, a distal end, and a distal section;
an expandable slotted body located at the distal section of said catheter, said expandable slotted body comprising one or more slotted body arms;
one or more vessel wall temperature sensors positioned on said one or more slotted body arms, said one or more vessel wall temperature sensors configured to make contact with a vessel wall when said expandable slotted body is in an expanded state; and
one or more blood temperature sensors positioned on said one or more slotted body arms in a configuration which prevents contact between said one or more blood temperature sensors and said vessel wall when said expandable slotted body is in an expanded state.
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61. A thermography catheter having an expandable member disposed on a distal section thereof and a plurality of thermal sensors with a first thermal sensor configured to be at an outer most radial position from a longitudinal axis of the distal section of the catheter with the expandable member in an expanded state and a second thermal sensor configured to disposed radially inward of the first thermal sensor with the expandable member in an expanded state.
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62. A thermography method comprising measuring the temperature of a body vessel wall and the temperature of blood adjacent to the body vessel wall contemporaneously.
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63. A thermography method, comprising:
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providing a catheter having an expandable member disposed on a distal section thereof and a plurality of thermal sensors on a distal section thereof;
positioning the distal section of the catheter in a body vessel;
detecting the temperature of a site on the body vessel; and
detecting the temperature of blood adjacent the site of the body vessel contemporaneously with the detection of the temperature of the site on the body vessel. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65)
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66. A thermography instrument for displaying thermography data taken from a site within a patient, comprising:
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a system controller coupled to a thermography data input; and
a display coupled to the system controller and configured to graphically display thermography data from the thermography data input on a graph having thermography data from the thermography data input on a first axis and an axial position of a site from which the thermography data was taken on a second axis. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69)
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Specification