ENERGY DELIVERY DEVICES AND METHODS

• US 20060247617A1
• Filed: 05/25/2006
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asthmatx, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: DANEK, Christopher J., Laufer, Michael D., Kaplan, Gary S., Wizeman, William J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,920,413 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/41
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/02 by cooling, e.g. cryogenic techniques devices for cooling specific reflex points of the body within cell-life limits A61H39/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/08 by means of electrically-heated probes
• 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 2018/00214 Expandable means emitting energy, e.g. by elements carried thereon
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0022 Balloons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00267 having a basket shaped structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00541 Lung or bronchi
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00791 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00797 measured by multiple temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00821 measured by a thermocouple
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/30 Devices for illuminating a surgical field, the devices having an interrelation with other surgical devices or with a surgical procedure
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/022 intracavitary

Abstract

This relates to methods and devices for improving treatment to a wall, a cavity or passageway with a medical device when used in tortuous anatomy.

Claims

1. An illumination and treatment catheter for use with a power supply and for illuminating tissue, the catheter comprising:

a shaft having an outer shaft surface and a far end adapted for insertion into a body of a patient, where the far end the shaft is coupled to at least one energy transfer element that is adapted to apply energy to the body lumen;

an illumination source located towards the far end of the shaft; and

a connector for coupling the energy transfer element to the power supply.

2. The catheter of claim 1, where the power supply also provides energy to the illumination source.

3. The catheter of claim 1, where the illumination source provides visible light.

4. The catheter of claim 3, where the illumination source provides visible light of a wavelength to provide at least one visible color.

5. The catheter of claim 3, where the illumination source provides visible light of a range of wavelengths to provide a plurality of visible colors.

6. The catheter of claim 1, where the illumination source comprises ultraviolet light.

7. The catheter of claim 1, where the illumination source comprises infrared light.

8. The catheter of claim 1, where the illumination source comprises a far end of at least one optical fiber, where a near end of the optical fiber is coupled to an illumination supply.

9. The catheter of claim 8, where the illumination power supply comprises a coherent light source.

10. The catheter of claim 9, where the coherent light source comprises a laser.

11. The catheter of claim 1, where the illumination source comprises at least one light emitting diode.

12. The catheter of claim 11, where the at least one light emitting diode comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes.

13. The catheter of claim 1, where the energy transfer elements comprise a plurality of legs forming an expandable basket structure located towards the far end of the shaft, and such that when the legs deflect outward the basket expands to a maximum diameter.

14. The catheter of claim 13, where the illumination source is located one or more legs of the expandable basket.

15. The catheter of claim 13 where the legs each comprise a distal end and a proximal end, where the leg distal ends are secured together and the leg proximal ends are secured to the shaft, and where the illumination source is located at a distal end of the legs.

16. The catheter of claim 1, where the shaft comprises a flexibility to accommodate navigation through tortuous anatomy.

17. The catheter of claim 1, where the illumination source is located on the outer shaft surface.

18. The catheter of claim 1, further comprising an elongate sheath having a near end, a far end adapted for insertion into the body of the patient, and having a flexibility to accommodate navigation through tortuous anatomy, the sheath having a passageway extending therethrough, the passageway having a lubricious layer extending from at least a portion of the near end to the far end of the sheath:

where contact between the outer shaft surface and the lubricious layer results in reduced friction allowing relatively low force advancement of a far end of the shaft out of the far end of the sheath to advance the energy transfer element.

19. The catheter of claim 18, further comprising a handle located at a near end of the sheath, and where the sheath comprises a length sufficient to access a bronchial passageway of at least 3 mm in diameter when inserted through a respiratory opening of a patient.

20. The catheter of claim 1, where the outer shaft surface is corrugated.

21. The catheter of claim 1, where the lubricious layer is corrugated.

22. The catheter of claim 1, further comprising a junction located between a distal end of the elongate shaft and a proximal end of the energy transfer elements, the junction having a greater degree of flexibility than a remainder of the shaft such that misalignment between the energy transfer elements causes bending at the junction prior to deformation of the energy transfer elements.

23. The catheter of claim 1, where the outer shaft surface comprises a lubricious layer.

24. The catheter of claim 1, where the shaft has a column strength sufficient to advance the expandable energy transfer element within the anatomy, and where the shaft has a flexibility that permits self-centering of the energy transfer element when expanded to contact the surface of the body passageway.

29. The catheter of claim 3, where the illumination source provides visible light of a range of wavelengths to provide a plurality of visible colors.

25. An illumination and treatment catheter for use with a power supply and for illuminating tissue, the catheter comprising:

an elongate sheath having a near end, a far end adapted for insertion into the body of the patient, the sheath having a passageway extending therethrough,

a shaft slidably located within the passageway and having an outer shaft surface, where the shaft is coupled to at least one energy transfer element that is adapted to apply energy to the body lumen;

an illumination source located towards the far end of the sheath; and

a connector for coupling the energy transfer element to the power supply.

26. The catheter of claim 25, where the power supply also provides energy to the illumination source.

27. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source provides visible light.

28. The catheter of claim 27, where the illumination source provides visible light of a wavelength to provide at least one visible color.

30. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source comprises ultraviolet light.

31. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source comprises infrared light.

32. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source comprises a far end of at least one optical fiber, where a near end of the optical fiber is coupled to an illumination supply.

33. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source comprises a far end of at least one optical fiber, where a near end of the optical fiber is coupled to an illumination supply.

34. The catheter of claim 33, where the illumination power supply comprises a coherent light source.

35. The catheter of claim 34, where the coherent light source comprises a laser.

36. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source comprises at least one light emitting diode.

37. The catheter of claim 36, where the at least one light emitting diode comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes.

38. The catheter of claim 25, where the energy transfer elements comprise a plurality of legs forming an expandable basket structure located towards the far end of the shaft, and such that when the legs deflect outward the basket expands to a maximum diameter.

39. The catheter of claim 38, where the illumination source is located one or more legs of the expandable basket.

40. The catheter of claim 39 where the legs each comprise a distal end and a proximal end, where the leg distal ends are secured together and the leg proximal ends are secured to the shaft, and where the illumination source is located at a distal end of the legs.

41. The catheter of claim 25, where the shaft comprises a flexibility to accommodate navigation through tortuous anatomy.

42. The catheter of claim 25, where the illumination source is located on the outer shaft surface.

43. The catheter of claim 25, where the sheath and shaft each have a flexibility to accommodate navigation through tortuous anatomy, the passageway having a lubricious layer extending from at least a portion of the near end to the far end of the sheath;

where contact between the outer shaft surface and the lubricious layer results in reduced friction allowing relatively low force advancement of a far end of the shaft out of the far end of the sheath to advance the energy transfer element.

44. The catheter of claim 42. further comprising a handle located at a near end of the sheath, and where the sheath comprises a length sufficient to access a bronchial passageway of at least 3 mm in diameter when inserted through a respiratory opening of a patient.

45. The catheter of claim 25, where the outer shaft surface is corrugated.

46. The catheter of claim 25, where the lubricious layer is corrugated.

47. The catheter of claim 25, further comprising a junction located between a distal end of the elongate shaft and a proximal end of the energy transfer elements, the junction having a greater degree of flexibility than a remainder of the shaft such that misalignment between the energy transfer elements causes bending at the junction prior to deformation of the energy transfer elements.

48. The catheter of claim 25, where the outer shaft surface comprises a lubricious layer.

49. The catheter of claim 25, where the shaft has a column strength sufficient to advance the expandable energy transfer element within the anatomy, and where the shaft has a flexibility that permits self-centering of the energy transfer element when expanded to contact the surface of the body passageway.