Improved optical catheter and method for making same

• US 4,416,285 A
• Filed: 08/13/1981
• Issued: 11/22/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/1978
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Oximetrix, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories)
• Original Assignee: Oximetrix, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories)
• Inventors: Shaw, Robert F., Sperinde, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US06/292,696
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 128/633-634, 250/227, 350/96.2-96.4, 356/39-42
• US Class Current: 600/339
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1459 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter A61B5/1464 takes precedence

Abstract

Catheter apparatus having transmitting and receiving optical fibers for photometric analysis of a fluid eliminates the need for individually calibrating each catheter within a population of catheters by making substantially uniform the center-to-center spacing between the outlet aperture of each and every transmitting fiber and the inlet aperture of each and every receiving fiber of an individual catheter for all catheters within a population of catheters; and by making the size and shape of all the outlet apertures of all transmitting fibers generally uniform and the size and shape of the inlet apertures of all receiving fibers generally uniform in each catheter and from catheter to catheter and that the orientation of all transmitting fibers relative to all receiving fibers be similar.

Claims

1. A population of catheters suitable for use during photometric analysis of a fluid, each member of said population of catheters having a single transmitting optical fiber having proximal and distal ends with aperture means respectively formed therein for conducting radiant energy therethrough, each member of said population of catheters also having a single receiving optical fiber having proximal and distal ends with aperture means respectively formed therein for conducting radiant energy therethrough, at least some of said transmitting and receiving fibers within said population of catheters differing sufficiently in a cross-sectional dimension from one another such that calibration of individual members of said population of catheters would otherwise be necessary to carry out accurate photometric analysis of the fluid even if said transmitting and receiving optical fibers of said members were used in parallel and tangent configuration at said distal ends, said aperture means being located at said distal ends of said transmitting and receiving optical fibers in each member of said population of catheters so that said fibers respectively have centroids of area spaced from one another at a fixed distance which is identical for all members of said population of catheters such that the need for individual calibration of each member of said population of catheters is eliminated despite differences in the dimensions of said transmitting and receiving optical fibers.

2. A population of catheters as set forth in claim 1, wherein all of said aperture means in said transmitting and receiving optical fibers within said population of catheters are substantially the same size and shape.

3. A population of catheters as set forth in claim 2, wherein all of said transmitting and receiving optical fibers are substantially cylindrical at the distal ends thereof.

4. A population of catheters as set forth in claim 2, wherein all of said transmitting and receiving optical fibers are substantially rectangular at the distal ends thereof.

5. A method for performing photometric analysis of fluids by employing photometric analysis equipment in combination with any one of a population of catheters, each catheter so employed including a single transmitting optical fiber and a single receiving optical fiber having proximal and distal ends with aperture means respectively formed therein for conducting radiant energy therethrough, each of said aperture means having a centroid of area associated therewith, at least some of said transmitting and receiving optical fibers differing sufficiently in a cross-sectional dimension from one another such that individual calibration of each catheter so employed would otherwise be necessary to carry out accurate photometric analysis of the fluids even if said transmitting and receiving fibers of said ones of said population of catheters were used in parallel and tangent configuration at said distal ends, said method comprising the steps of:

selecting for use only catheters from a population of catheters, which population of catheters has been established such that the distance between said centroids of area associated with said aperture means located at said distal ends of said transmitting and receiving optical fibers of each catheter in said population of catheters is identical for all catheters in said population of catheters; and

operating the photometric analysis equipment using all of the catheters so selected in order to perform photometric analysis of the fluids without individually calibrating each catheter so selected.

6. A method of constructing a population of catheters for use in performing photometic analysis of a fluid, which population of catheters does not require individualized calibration prior to performing the photometric analysis of the fluid, each member of said population of catheters having a single transmitting optical fiber for transmitting radiant energy to the fluid and a single receiving optical fiber for receiving radiant energy from the fluid, said single transmitting and receiving optical fibers being selected from a population of optical fibers, each member of said population of optical fibers having a proximal end and a distal end with aperture means formed at said distal and for conducting radiant energy therethrough, at least some of the members of said population of optical fibers differing sufficiently in a cross-sectional dimension from one another such that members of a population of catheters constructed from said population of optical fibers would otherwise require individualized calibration even if said transmitting and receiving fibers of said members were used in parallel and tangent configuration at said distal ends, each said distal end having a centroid-of-area associated therewith, said method comprising the steps of:

selecting a first optical fiber from said population of optical fibers;

selecting a second optical fiber from said population of optical fibers for positioning in fixed relationship to said first optical fiber to form a pair of optical fibers which respectively serve as the single transmitting and single receiving optical fibers of an individual member of said population of catheters, said second optical fiber being selected such that the distance between said centroid-of-area associated with said aperture means formed in said distal end of said first optical fiber so selected and said centroid-of-area associated with said aperture means formed in said distal end of said second optical fiber so selected is identical for each pair of said first and second optical fibers so formed;

placing said first and second optical fibers so selected in an individual catheter; and

repeating said selecting and placing steps to establish a population of catheters.