Devices For Fixing A Sensor In A Lumen

• US 20070129637A1
• Filed: 11/14/2006
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Remon Medical Technologies Ltd. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Remon Medical Technologies Ltd. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Penner, Abraham, Wolinsky, Lone, Ben-Yoseph, Alon
• Granted Patent: US 10,390,714 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/486
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0215 by means inserted into the body catheters A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02152 specially adapted for venous pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6862 Stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6876 Blood vessel
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6882 Anchoring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/82 Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07; instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts A61F2/95; for closing wounds, or holding wounds closed A61B17/04 - A61B17/115; dilators A61M29/00

Abstract

Sensing devices and methods of implanting sensing devices within an anatomical vessel network of a patient are provided. In one method, a fixation element (e.g., a stent or coil) of the sensing device is expanded into firm contact with a wall of a main anatomical vessel (e.g., a right pulmonary artery), and a stabilization element of the sensing device is placed into contact with a wall of an anatomical vessel branch of the main anatomical vessel. In another method, a first fixation element of the sensing device is expanded into firm contact with the wall of the main anatomical vessel (e.g., a right pulmonary artery) at a longitudinal location proximal to the anatomical vessel branch, and a second fixation element of the sensing device is expanded into firm contact with the wall of the main anatomical vessel at a longitudinal location distal to the anatomical vessel branch.

Claims

1. An implant for sensing parameters within an anatomical vessel network of a patient, comprising:

a first fixation element having an expanded geometry for firmly engaging a wall of the vessel network at a first longitudinal location;

a second fixation element having an expanded geometry for firmly engaging the wall of vessel network at a second longitudinal location;

a connecting element mechanically coupling the first and second fixation elements together in an articulating manner; and

a sensing element mechanically coupled to the first fixation element opposite the connecting element.

2. The implant of claim 1, wherein the vessel network is a blood vessel network.

3. The implant of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first and second longitudinal locations is in a right pulmonary artery.

4. The implant of claim 1, wherein the vessel network has substantially differing diameters at the first and second longitudinal locations.

5. The implant of claim 1, wherein the first and second longitudinal locations are in a single anatomical vessel.

6. The implant of claim 1, wherein the first longitudinal location is in a main anatomical vessel, and the second longitudinal location is in an anatomical vessel branch of the main anatomical vessel.

7. The implant of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second fixation elements is selected from the group consisting of a stent and a coil.

8. The implant of claim 1, wherein the sensing element comprises one or more of a pressure sensor, an accelerometer, a wall motion sensor, a flow sensor, a temperature sensor, an oxygen sensor, a glucose sensor, a coagulation sensor, an electrical activity sensor, and a pH sensor.

9. The implant of claim 1, further comprising:

a third fixation element having an expanded geometry for firmly engaging the wall of vessel network at a third longitudinal location; and

another connecting element mechanically coupling the second and third fixation elements together in an articulating manner.

10. The implant of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter configured for wirelessly transmitting information sensed by the sensing element to a remote receiver.

11. A method of implanting a sensing device within an anatomical vessel network of a patient, the method comprising:

expanding a fixation element of the device into firm contact with a wall of a main anatomical vessel; and

locating a stabilization element of the device into contact with a wall of an anatomical vessel branch of the main anatomical vessel.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the anatomical vessel network is a blood vessel network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the main anatomical vessel is a right pulmonary artery.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the fixation element is selected from the group consisting of a stent and a coil.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the stabilization element is a second fixation element that is expanded into firm contact with the wall of the anatomical vessel branch.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the stabilization element resists rotation of the fixation element about a longitudinal axis of the main anatomical vessel.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising expanding a third fixation element of the device into firm contact with the wall of the main anatomical vessel, wherein the first fixation element is located proximal to the anatomical vessel branch, and the third fixation element is located distal to the anatomical vessel branch.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising locating a sensing element of the sensing device within the main anatomical vessel when the first fixation element is firmly engaged with the wall of the main anatomical vessel and the stabilization element is in contact with the wall of the anatomical vessel branch.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising operating the sensing element to measure one or more of a pressure, acceleration, wall motion, fluid flow, temperature, oxygen level, glucose level, coagulation, electrical activity, and pH level within the anatomical vessel.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising wirelessly transmitting sensed information from the sensing device.

21. A method of implanting a sensing device within an anatomical vessel network having a main anatomical vessel and an anatomical vessel branch of the main anatomical vessel, the method comprising:

expanding a first fixation element of the device into firm contact with the wall of the main anatomical vessel at a longitudinal location proximal to the anatomical vessel branch; and

expanding a second fixation element of the device into firm contact with the wall of the main anatomical vessel at a longitudinal location distal to the anatomical vessel branch.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the anatomical vessel network is a blood vessel network.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the main anatomical vessel is a right pulmonary artery.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein each of the first and second fixation elements is selected from the group consisting of a stent and a coil.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising expanding a third fixation element of the device into firm contact with the wall of the anatomical vessel branch.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein a sensing element of the device is located within the main anatomical vessel when the first and second fixation elements are firmly engaged with the wall of the main anatomical vessel.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising measuring one or more of a pressure, acceleration, wall motion, fluid flow, temperature, oxygen level, glucose level, coagulation, electrical activity, and pH level within the anatomical vessel.

28. The method of claim 21, further comprising wirelessly transmitting sensed information from the sensing device.