Catheter
First Claim
1. A catheter for measuring pressure fluctuations within the body, comprisinga tube having one end suitable for insertion into a body organ,a transducer located at said end, said transducer comprisinga flexible piezoelectric polymeric membrane having an interior surface facing the interior of said tube and an exterior surface facing the exterior of said tube,a pair of surface electrodes mounted on said membrane,said tube end having a cavity,said membrane being supported above said cavity at the periphery of the membrane so that said membrane is unsupported in the region where it overlies said cavity, andsaid cavity being sufficiently large to permit unobstructed inward flexing of said membrane in response to pressure fluctuations in said organ, andmeans for transmitting from said electrodes to external circuitry electrical signals produced by said flexing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter including a support suitable for insertion into a body organ, a transducer carried by the support, the transducer including a flexible piezoelectric polymeric membrane, and a pair of surface electrodes mounted on the membrane, the support including a rigid portion defining a flexure cavity inside the catheter, the membrane being mounted on the rigid support portion to permit free flexing of the membrane into and out of the cavity, one surface of the membrane communicating with the cavity, the other surface of the membrane being exposed to the exterior of the catheter to receive and flex in response to pressure variations in the organ, and an electrical cable for transmitting from the electrodes to external circuitry electrical signals produced by said flexure.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A catheter for measuring pressure fluctuations within the body, comprising
a tube having one end suitable for insertion into a body organ, a transducer located at said end, said transducer comprising a flexible piezoelectric polymeric membrane having an interior surface facing the interior of said tube and an exterior surface facing the exterior of said tube, a pair of surface electrodes mounted on said membrane, said tube end having a cavity, said membrane being supported above said cavity at the periphery of the membrane so that said membrane is unsupported in the region where it overlies said cavity, and said cavity being sufficiently large to permit unobstructed inward flexing of said membrane in response to pressure fluctuations in said organ, and means for transmitting from said electrodes to external circuitry electrical signals produced by said flexing.
Specification