Catheter for removing arteriosclerotic plaque
First Claim
1. A catheter adapted to be inserted into a blood vessel for identifying and removing arteriosclerotic plaque deposits in said blood vessel, said catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen comprising:
- an elongated optical fiber having proximal and distal ends disposed within the lumen of the catheter tube and extending the length of the catheter tube for transmitting laser irradiation;
an ultrasonic transducer mounted at the distal end of the catheter adjacent the distal end of the optical fiber for transmitting the receiving ultrasonic signals; and
a pair of wires electrically connected to the ultrasonic transducer extending the length of the catheter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for identifying and removing arteriosclerotic plaque deposits from blood vessels is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a catheter having an optical fiber for transmitting laser irradiation and an ultrasonic transducer mounted at the tip of the catheter for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals. The apparatus further comprises a transmitting unit for generating electrical impulses for activating the ultrasonic transducer, a receiving unit for displaying electrical signals from the ultrasonic transducer and a laser. Arteriosclerotic plaque deposits are identified by the ultrasonic echoes which result from transmitted ultrasonic signals and are removed by laser irradiation.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A catheter adapted to be inserted into a blood vessel for identifying and removing arteriosclerotic plaque deposits in said blood vessel, said catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen comprising:
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an elongated optical fiber having proximal and distal ends disposed within the lumen of the catheter tube and extending the length of the catheter tube for transmitting laser irradiation; an ultrasonic transducer mounted at the distal end of the catheter adjacent the distal end of the optical fiber for transmitting the receiving ultrasonic signals; and a pair of wires electrically connected to the ultrasonic transducer extending the length of the catheter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A catheter comprising:
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an elongated, flexible catheter tube having proximal and distal ends and a lumen; an elongated optical fiber having proximal and distal ends disposed within the lumen of the catheter tube and extending at least about the length of the catheter tube for transmitting laser irradiation; an ultrasonic transducer having a generally flat face mounted to the distal end of the catheter tube at a selected angle to the longitudinal axis of the catheter tube; and a pair of wires disposed within the lumen of the catheter tube and electrically connected to the transducer, said wires extending at least about the length of the catheter tube. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus comprising:
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a catheter adapted to be inserted into a blood vessel for identifying and removing arteriosclerotic plaque deposits in said blood vessel, said catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen comprising; an elongated optical fiber having proximal and distal ends disposed within the lumen of the catheter and extending the length of the catheter lumen for transmitting from its distal end laser irradiation which has been applied to its proximal end; an ultrasonic transducer at the distal end of the catheter adjacent the distal end of the optical fiber for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals; a pair of wires having proximal and distal ends and expanding the length of the catheter electrically connected at their distal ends to the ultrasonic transducer; a transmitting unit electrically connected to the proximal ends of the wires for generating electrical impulses for activating the ultrasonic transducer to transmit ultrasonic signals; and a receiving unit electrically connected to the proximal ends of the wires for receiving and displaying electrical signals transmitted by the ultrasonic transducer in response to ultrasonic signals received by the ultrasonic transducer. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for removing occlusions in blood vessels comprising the steps of:
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(a) inserting into a blood vessel a catheter comprising; (1) an optical fiber for transmitting laser irradiation; (2) an ultrasonic transducer at the distal tip of the catheter for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals; (b) activating the ultrasonic transducer to transmit short ultrasonic pulse signals at selected intervals; (c) receiving ultrasonic echoes resulting from the transmitted ultrasonic pulse signals; (d) determining the presence and character of occlusions in the blood vessel based upon the received ultrasonic echoes; and (e) directing sufficient laser irradiation through the optical fiber onto occlusions whose presence and character have been determined to remove at least a portion of the occlusion. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification