Intravascular imaging guidewire
First Claim
1. An imaging guidewire comprising:
- a body in the form of an elongate flexible tubular member, said body having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a portion of said body being at least substantially transparent to imaging energy;
a flexible elongate imaging core slidably received within said body, said imaging core having a shaft and an imaging device mounted on a distal end of said shaft and arranged to position said imaging device in axial relation to said substantially transparent portion of said body, said imaging device adapted to receive imaging energy related to internal body structures and to transmit imaging signals to an imaging signal processor;
the imaging guidewire having a maximum diameter along its entire length not exceeding that which can effectively receive a guidewire lumen of an intravascular catheter;
wherein said imaging core is axially translatable relative to said body to enable axial translation of said imaging device; and
a connector on the proximal end of the shaft adapted to provide only a mechanical connection to a mating connector on a drive unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An intravascular imaging guidewire which can accomplish longitudinal translation of an imaging plane allowing imaging of an axial length of a region of interest without moving the guidewire. The imaging guidewire comprises a body in the form of a flexible elongate tubular member. An elongate flexible imaging core is slidably received within the body. The imaging core includes a shaft having an imaging device mounted on its distal end. The body and the imaging core are cooperatively constructed to enable axial translation of the imaging core and imaging device relative to the body. The body has a transparent distal portion extending an axial length over which axially translatable imaging may be performed. The imaging guidewire has a maximum diameter over its entire length sized to be received within a guidewire lumen of an intravascular catheter.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An imaging guidewire comprising:
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a body in the form of an elongate flexible tubular member, said body having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a portion of said body being at least substantially transparent to imaging energy;
a flexible elongate imaging core slidably received within said body, said imaging core having a shaft and an imaging device mounted on a distal end of said shaft and arranged to position said imaging device in axial relation to said substantially transparent portion of said body, said imaging device adapted to receive imaging energy related to internal body structures and to transmit imaging signals to an imaging signal processor;
the imaging guidewire having a maximum diameter along its entire length not exceeding that which can effectively receive a guidewire lumen of an intravascular catheter;
wherein said imaging core is axially translatable relative to said body to enable axial translation of said imaging device; and
a connector on the proximal end of the shaft adapted to provide only a mechanical connection to a mating connector on a drive unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An imaging guidewire comprising
a body in the form of an elongate flexible tubular member, said body having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a portion of said body being at least substantially transparent to imaging energy; -
a flexible elongate imaging core slidably received within said body, said imaging core having a shaft and an imaging device mounted on a distal end of said shaft and arranged to position said imaging device in axial relation to said substantially transparent portion of said body, said imaging device adapted to receive imaging energy related to internal body structures and to transmit imaging signals to an imaging signal processor; and
a connector having a distal component including a conductive ring through which a coaxial cable having an inner lead and an outer lead separated by a first insulator is inserted and said conductive ring filled with a first portion of conductive epoxy to electrically connect the outer lead to the conductive ring;
the connector also having a proximal component including a second conductor having stepped tubular section and a ball-shaped end having a cavity, an insulator covering said stepped tubular section, the inner lead and insulation extending through said tubular section and into said cavity, and said cavity filled with a second portion of conductive epoxy to electrically connect said inner lead to said second conductor, said proximal component inserted into said conductive ring by inserting said stepped tubular section covered with said insulator into said conductive ring.
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19. A method for diagnosis and treatment of an internal body structure comprising the steps of:
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providing an imaging guidewire including;
a body in the form of an elongate flexible tubular member, said body having a proximal end and a distal end, at least a portion of said body being at least substantially transparent to imaging energy;
a flexible elongate imaging core slidably received within said body, said imaging core having a shaft and an imaging device mounted on a distal end of said shaft and arranged to position said imaging device in axial relation to said substantially transparent portion of said body, said imaging device adapted to receive imaging energy related to internal body structures and to transmit imaging signals to an imaging signal processor;
the imaging guidewire having a maximum diameter along its entire length not exceeding that which can effectively receive a guidewire lumen of an intravascular catheter;
wherein said imaging core is axially translatable relative to said body to enable axial translation of said imaging device;
providing, a connector attached to a proximal end of said shaft, said connector providing only a mechanical connection with a mating connect or of a drive unit;
introducing said imaging guidewire into a vessel of a vascular system and routing said imaging guidewire to the internal body structure;
producing images of said internal body structure using said imaging device; and
axially translating said imaging core relative to said body to image a length of the internal body structure. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification