Irradiation catheter and method of use
First Claim
1. An irradiation catheter assembly for disposing a nuclear irradiation source at a selected position in a blood vessel, comprising:
- a flexible tubular catheter body having an inner lumen;
an elongated irradiation ribbon disposed within said lumen;
at least one radioactive element mounted on said ribbon;
a guidewire channel formed on said catheter body; and
a guidewire disposed within said guidewire channel for guiding said catheter body to a selected site within the blood vessel.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter for use with a radioactive source within the catheter to irradiate a selected area of a blood vessel in combination with angioplasty procedures, to prevent restenosis of that area of the blood vessel. The catheter has a guidewire channel formed near its distal end to facilitate use of the catheter as a rapid exchange catheter, allowing insertion of the catheter over a guidewire also used in performance of an angioplasty procedure. The catheter can also have a guidewire channel formed near its proximal end to provide an O-ring sealing surface and to facilitate free guidewire movement. The catheter also has a closed end to retain the radioactive source within the catheter. The catheter can also be provided with a centering balloon or a set of centering wire loops to center the radioactive source radially within the blood vessel.
238 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An irradiation catheter assembly for disposing a nuclear irradiation source at a selected position in a blood vessel, comprising:
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a flexible tubular catheter body having an inner lumen; an elongated irradiation ribbon disposed within said lumen; at least one radioactive element mounted on said ribbon; a guidewire channel formed on said catheter body; and a guidewire disposed within said guidewire channel for guiding said catheter body to a selected site within the blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An irradiation catheter assembly for disposing a nuclear irradiation source at a selected position in a blood vessel, comprising:
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a flexible tubular catheter body having an inner lumen; an elongated irradiation ribbon disposed within said lumen; at least one radioactive element disposed near a distal end of said ribbon; a guidewire channel formed adjacent a distal end of said catheter body; a guidewire disposed within said guidewire channel for guiding said catheter body to a selected site within the blood vessel; a closed distal end formed on said inner lumen to retain said radioactive element within said lumen; and an expandable centering means mounted on said catheter body adjacent said radioactive element, for selectively centering said catheter body radially within the blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A catheter for disposing a nuclear irradiation source at a selected position in a blood vessel over a guidewire, said catheter comprising:
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a flexible tubular body having an inner lumen for receiving the irradiation source; a guidewire channel formed on said body for receiving the guidewire; a positioning means mounted on said body adjacent the intended position of the irradiation source, for positioning said body radially as desired within the blood vessel; and a closed distal end formed on said inner lumen to retain the irradiation source within said lumen; wherein said positioning means comprises; at least one balloon mounted on said body, said balloon being inflatable to radially extend at least one extremity of said balloon from said body to position said body as desired relative to the walls of the blood vessel; and an inflation lumen formed on said body, said inflation lumen being connected in flow communication with said balloon for providing inflation pressure to said balloon; wherein said at least one balloon comprises an inflatable coil surrounding said body. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A catheter for disposing a nuclear irradiation source at a selected position in a blood vessel over a guidewire, said catheter comprising;
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a flexible tubular body having an inner lumen for receiving the irradiation source; a guidewire channel formed on said body for receiving the guidewire; a positioning means mounted on said body adjacent the intended position of the irradiation source, for positioning said body radially as desired within the blood vessel; and a closed distal end formed on said inner lumen to retain the irradiation source within said lumen; wherein said positioning means comprises; at least one balloon mounted on said body, said balloon being inflatable to radially extend at least one extremity of said balloon from said body to position said body as desired relative to the walls of the blood vessel; and an inflation lumen formed on said body, said inflation lumen being connected in flow communication with said balloon for providing inflation pressure to said balloon; wherein said at least one balloon comprises at least one substantially annular balloon surrounding said body. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method for irradiating a stenotic segment of a blood vessel, said blood vessel having a guidewire disposed therein, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing an irradiation catheter having a closed distal end and having a guidewire channel formed adjacent said distal end; providing an irradiation ribbon having a radioactive source adjacent its distal end; inserting a proximal end of said guidewire through said guidewire channel; inserting said irradiation catheter into said blood vessel over said guidewire, until said distal end of said irradiation catheter is located within said stenotic segment; inserting said irradiation ribbon into said irradiation catheter, until said radioactive source is located within said stenotic segment. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification