INTRODUCER SHEATHE WITH ELECTRODES

• US 20100174169A1
• Filed: 01/05/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Heart Institute
• Original Assignee: Texas Heart Institute
• Inventors: RAZAVI, Mehdi
• Granted Patent: US 8,273,023 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/371
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/053 Measuring electrical impedance or conductance of a portion of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0662 Guide tubes

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a sheathe for introducing a catheter into a blood vessel, a first electrode provided on the sheathe, a second electrode; and a measuring device to which the first and second electrodes are coupled. The measuring device measures the impedance or conduction velocity between the first electrode on the sheathe and the second electrode

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a sheathe for introducing a catheter into a blood vessel; and

an electrode provided on said sheathe.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sheathe comprises a tubular member and said electrode is provided on an outer surface of said tubular member.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sheathe comprises a tubular member and said electrode is provided on an inner surface of said tubular member.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrode is embedded within material defining said sheathe.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrode is a ring electrode.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrode is a partial ring electrode.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a conductive wire one end of which connects to said electrode, and at least some of said wire extends along said sheathe.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a conductive wire one end of which connects to said electrode, and at least some of said wire is embedded within said sheathe.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a dilator insertable into said sheathe.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second electrode electrically coupled, through living tissue, to the electrode provided on the sheathe, for determining electrical impedance.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said second electrode is a skin electrode or an electrode on a urinary catheter.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising multiple electrodes on the sheathe.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a sheathe for introducing a catheter into a blood vessel;

a first electrode provided on said sheathe;

a second electrode; and

a measuring device to which the first and second electrodes are coupled, said measuring device measuring the impedance or conduction velocity between the first electrode on the sheathe and the second electrode.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising an electrical conductor extending along at least part of the sheathe from the first electrode to the measuring device to conduct a signal between the first electrode and the impedance measuring device.

15. A method for detecting bleeding in a person, comprising;

inserting a sheathe into a blood vessel, said sheathe including an electrode;

injecting, by a current source, an electrical current that runs through said electrode;

computing, by logic, an impedance or conduction velocity based on said injected current; and

determining, by said logic, whether said impedance or conduction velocity is at a level indicative of bleeding or a clot.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein inserting said sheathe comprises inserting said sheathe into a femoral artery.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising placing a second electrode on the skin of the person and wherein computing the impedance comprises computing the impedance between the electrode on the skin and the sheathe electrode.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein computing the impedance comprises computing an impedance amplitude value and an impedance phase value.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising performing a calibration mode in which an impedance threshold is computed.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising computing an impedance following completion of a medical procedure for which the sheathe was inserted.