Apparatus and method for determining physiologic characteristics of body lumens
First Claim
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1. A method for determining a physiologic characteristic of a body lumen, said method comprising:
- introducing an incompressible fluid to a balloon disposed within the body lumen;
measuring static pressure within the balloon;
measuring total volume of fluid within the balloon at at least one static pressure below 200 mm Hg; and
calculating the physiologic characteristic based on the measured volume at said at least one measured pressure.
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Abstract
A system includes a catheter (10) having a low pressure balloon (42) at of one end thereof, a precise, low pressure, low volume fluid infusion means (41) and a pressure sensor (43). The balloon (42) is introduced to a body lumen, such as a blood vessel, and inflated to a pressure at or just above physiologic, typically being below 200 mmhg. From the balloon volume at a particular pressure, the internal cross-sectional area and diameter of the vessel can be calculated. Additional calculations can be made at other pressures below 200 mmhg to determine compliance of the vessel.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method for determining a physiologic characteristic of a body lumen, said method comprising:
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introducing an incompressible fluid to a balloon disposed within the body lumen; measuring static pressure within the balloon; measuring total volume of fluid within the balloon at at least one static pressure below 200 mm Hg; and calculating the physiologic characteristic based on the measured volume at said at least one measured pressure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for determining wall compliance of a body lumen, said method comprising:
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introducing an incompressible fluid to a balloon disposed within the body lumen; measuring the static pressure within the balloon; measuring the total volume of fluid within the balloon at at least two static pressures below 200 mm Hg; and calculating the wall compliance based on an observed difference in the fluid volume between a first measured pressure and a second measured pressure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for calculating cross-sectional area at a location within a body lumen, said method comprising:
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inflating a balloon to a preselected pressure while the balloon is unconstrained; determining the internal volume of the unconstrained balloon at the preselected inflation pressure; introducing the balloon while uninflated to the location within the body lumen; inflating the balloon to the preselected pressure at the location; determining the internal volume of the balloon while inflated at the location; and calculating the cross-sectional area at the location based on the difference between the unconstrained volume and the volume at the location. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A system for measuring a physiologic characteristic of a body lumen, said system comprising:
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a catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and an inflation lumen extending from the proximal end to near the distal end; an inflatable balloon disposed near the distal end of the catheter body and being connected to the inflation lumen; means for introducing a measured volume of inflation medium through a proximal end of the inflation lumen to inflate the inflatable balloon to a pressure of up to 200 mm Hg; means for measuring the pressure of the inflation medium within the balloon; and means for calculating the physiologic characteristic based on the value of the measured volume of inflation medium at one or more pressures below 200 mm Hg. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A system for measuring an internal dimension of a body lumen, said system comprising:
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a catheter body having a proximal end, a distal end, and an inflation lumen extending from the proximal end to near the distal end; an inflatable balloon mounted near the distal end of the catheter body and being connected to the inflation lumen; means for introducing a volume of an incompressible medium through a proximal end of the inflation lumen to inflate the inflatable balloon; means for measuring the pressure of incompressible medium within the balloon; and means for calculating the internal dimension of a location within the body lumen based on the difference between (a) the volume of inflation medium required to produce a preselected pressure of inflation medium within the balloon when the balloon is unconstrained and (b) the volume of inflation medium required to produce the same pressure of inflation medium within the balloon when the balloon is at the location. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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33. A system for connection to a balloon catheter for determining a physiologic characteristic of a body lumen, said system comprising:
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means for introducing a measured volume of incompressible fluid to the balloon catheter; means for receiving a signal corresponding to static pressure within the balloon from the catheter; and means for calculating the physiologic characteristic based on the value of the measured volume of inflation medium at one or more measured pressures below 200 mmhg. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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Specification