Intravascular imaging detector

• US 20060178577A1
• Filed: 04/07/2006
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CMR Naviscan Corporation (Compania Mexicana de Radiologia CGR SA de CV)
• Original Assignee: Bradley E. Patt, Edward J. Hoffman, Jan S. Iwanczyk
• Inventors: Patt, Bradley E., Iwanczyk, Jan S., Hoffman, Edward J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,787,933 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/425
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4057 by using radiation sources located in the interior of the body A61B6/037 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/425 using detectors specially adapted to be used in the interior of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4258 for detecting non x-ray radiation, e.g. gamma radiation A61B6/037 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/161 Applications in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting apparatus for radiation diagnosis A61B6/00

Abstract

An apparatus for intravascular imaging to detect and characterize early stage, unstable coronary arty plaques. The detector works by identifying and localizing plaque-binding beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals.

Claims

1. A method of localizing radiopharmaceutical markers in a body lumen:

advancing a detector array through the body lumen;

operating the detector array at a gross count rate; and

operating the detector array at a higher resolution imaging mode when a threshold count rate is detected.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein operating the detector array comprises summing all of the pixel responses in the detector array to obtain the gross count of the radiopharmaceutical markers.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the detector array provides a spatial resolution of one to three millimeters.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the radiopharmaceutical markers emit beta particles.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the radiopharmaceutical markers are bound to unstable plaque.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein advancing the detector array comprises advancing a catheter having the detector array on a distal portion of the catheter.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein advancing comprises moving the catheter over a guidewire through the body lumen.

8. The method of claim 5 further comprising pressing the detector array against a body lumen wall during the higher resolution imaging mode.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the detector array is disposed on an inflatable balloon at a distal end of an intravascular catheter, wherein pressing comprises expanding the inflatable balloon.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the detector array comprises an array of semiconductor detectors.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the detector array comprises an ionization detector.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the detector array comprises a gas scintillator.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the detector array comprises a scintillator and an optical fiber.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the detector array comprises an imaging plate.