DETECTION AND CLEARING OF OCCLUSIONS IN CATHETERS
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a catheter in fluid communication with a fluid of a patient'"'"'s body;
a shunt in fluid communication with the catheter;
a detection circuit comprising one or more wires in electrical communication with the fluid, detecting a change in one or more electrical properties of the fluid; and
a transmission circuit, comprising one or more other wires in electrical communication with the fluid, providing an electromagnetic signal to the fluid to remove an occlusion.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter system with integral sensing and clearing of occlusions is described. The system can include a catheter in fluid communication with a shunt for transporting a bodily fluid within, or out of, a patient'"'"'s body. The catheter and/or the shunt can include one or more detection wires and one or more transmission wires. The detection wires can be in electrical communication with the fluid and can enable the detection of changes in electrical properties of the fluid indicating an occlusion, or other anomaly, in the catheter. The transmission wires can be in electrical communication with the fluid and can enable the application of electromagnetic energy to the occlusion to facilitate its removal. The detection wires and the transmission wires can be the same or different wires. The system can include a probe that can be externally connected to the wires to provide detection and or transmission signals.
13 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a catheter in fluid communication with a fluid of a patient'"'"'s body; a shunt in fluid communication with the catheter; a detection circuit comprising one or more wires in electrical communication with the fluid, detecting a change in one or more electrical properties of the fluid; and a transmission circuit, comprising one or more other wires in electrical communication with the fluid, providing an electromagnetic signal to the fluid to remove an occlusion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system comprising:
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a catheter in fluid communication with a fluid of a patient'"'"'s body; a shunt in fluid communication with the catheter; a detection circuit, comprising one or more wires in electrical communication with the fluid; a transmission circuit comprising one or more other wires in electrical communication with the fluid; a detection unit, in electrical communication with the detection circuit, monitoring one or more electrical properties of the detection circuit to detect an occlusion in the catheter; and an external energy source, in electrical communication with the transmission circuit, providing energy to the transmission circuit to remove detected occlusions. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A method comprising:
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transmitting a first signal through a detection circuit comprising a detection unit and one or more wires disposed in a catheter and in electrical communication with a fluid in the catheter; detecting a change in one or more electrical properties of the detection circuit indicating an occlusion; and transmitting a second signal from an external energy source to the one or more wires disposed in the catheter to remove the occlusion. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification