CATHETER BALLOON EMPLOYING FORCE SENSING ELEMENTS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for medical diagnosis and/or treatment, the apparatus comprising:
- a flexible substrate forming an inflatable body; and
a plurality of force sensing elements disposed on the flexible substrate;
each force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements comprising;
two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and
an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components,wherein a measure of an electrical property of at least one of the conductive components provides an indication of a force applied to the inflatable body.
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Abstract
An apparatus for medical diagnosis and/or treatment is provides. The apparatus includes a flexible substrate forming an inflatable body and a plurality of force sensing elements disposed on the flexible substrate. The plurality of force sensing elements are disposed about the inflatable body such that the force sensing elements are disposed at areas of minimal curvature of the inflatable body in a deflated state.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus for medical diagnosis and/or treatment, the apparatus comprising:
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a flexible substrate forming an inflatable body; and a plurality of force sensing elements disposed on the flexible substrate; each force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements comprising; two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components, wherein a measure of an electrical property of at least one of the conductive components provides an indication of a force applied to the inflatable body. - View Dependent Claims (6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18)
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2. An apparatus for medical diagnosis and/or treatment, the apparatus comprising:
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a flexible substrate forming an inflatable body; and a coupling bus disposed on the flexible substrate about a portion of a circumference of the inflatable body, each force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements comprising; two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components, wherein each of the plurality of force sensing elements is coupled to the coupling bus, and wherein a measure of an electrical property of at least one of the conductive components provides an indication of a force applied to the inflatable body. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 15)
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19. A method of fabricating an apparatus for medical diagnosis and/or treatment, the method comprising:
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providing a coupling bus that is coupled to a plurality of force sensing elements, each force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements comprising; two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components; disposing the coupling bus about a region of an inflatable body; and disposing the plurality of force sensing elements about a portion of a circumference of the inflatable body. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method of performing a medical diagnosis and/or treatment on a tissue, the method comprising:
disposing in proximity to the tissue an apparatus comprising; a flexible substrate forming an inflatable body; a coupling bus; and a plurality of force sensing elements that are coupled to the coupling bus, each force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements comprising; two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components; and recording an electrical measurement of at least one force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements, wherein the measurement provides an indication of a force applied to the inflatable body. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. An apparatus for displaying a representation of measurements of a plurality of force sensing elements disposed about at least a portion of a circumference of an inflatable body during a medical diagnosis and/or treatment of a tissue, the apparatus comprising:
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a display; a memory storing processor-executable instructions; and one or more processor units to execute the processor-executable instructions, wherein execution of the processor-executable instructions causes the display to display a plurality of representations of the measurements, and wherein each representation of the plurality of representations corresponds to a force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements, each force sensing element of the plurality of force sensing elements comprising; two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for mapping contact with a surface, the system comprising:
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an inflatable body; a plurality of force sensing elements coupled to the inflatable body, each force sensing elements comprising; two conductive components, disposed substantially parallel to each other; and an elastic dielectric component disposed between the two conductive components; an electronic display electrically coupled to the plurality of force sensing elements, the electronic display providing a visual representation of the spatial location of each of the plurality of force sensing elements on the inflatable body, wherein; the electronic display changes a visual attribute of the visual representation of a respective force sensing element in response to a change in an electrical measurement of the respective force sensing element; and the change in the electrical measurement identifies a contact condition of the respective force sensing element with respect to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification