Doppler guiding catheter using sensed blood turbulence levels
First Claim
1. A guiding catheter used for locating a patient'"'"'s circulatory structure, comprising:
- a flexible shaft having an open lumen dimensioned for receiving a payload; and
a detector comprising a Doppler sensor disposed at a distal end of the flexible shaft, the Doppler sensor sensing blood flow velocity within the patient'"'"'s circulatory structure accessed by the distal end of the flexible shaft, the detector producing blood flow turbulence information indicative of a transition between laminar blood flow and turbulent blood flow, wherein the transition between laminar and turbulent blood flow is indicative of a relative change in position of the flexible shaft'"'"'s distal end between cardiac vessel and cardiac chamber locations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A guiding catheter includes a Doppler sensor disposed at a distal end of a flexible shaft. The Doppler sensor can sense a blood flow turbulence level within a chamber of the heart or a blood vessel of the heart. Detecting changes in a blood flow turbulence level is used to assist guiding of the distal end of the flexible shaft. The Doppler sensor may include a piezoelectric sensor or an optical sensor. The sensor readings may be processed to show turbulence through a time domain or frequency domain presentation of velocity. The sensor readings can be used to modulate an audible waveform to indicate turbulence. The guiding catheter may further include steering apparatus enabling deflection of the distal tip.
269 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A guiding catheter used for locating a patient'"'"'s circulatory structure, comprising:
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a flexible shaft having an open lumen dimensioned for receiving a payload; and
a detector comprising a Doppler sensor disposed at a distal end of the flexible shaft, the Doppler sensor sensing blood flow velocity within the patient'"'"'s circulatory structure accessed by the distal end of the flexible shaft, the detector producing blood flow turbulence information indicative of a transition between laminar blood flow and turbulent blood flow, wherein the transition between laminar and turbulent blood flow is indicative of a relative change in position of the flexible shaft'"'"'s distal end between cardiac vessel and cardiac chamber locations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for cannulating a destination blood vessel, comprising:
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introducing the distal end of a guiding catheter comprising a flexible shaft and a Doppler sensor disposed at a distal end of the flexible shaft into a patients access vessel;
distally advancing the guiding catheter through a circulatory pathway which includes at least a portion of a heart chamber;
monitoring blood flow turbulence readings from the Doppler sensor of the guiding catheter and detecting a transition between turbulent and laminar blood flow using the blood flow turbulence readings; and
guiding the distal tip of the guiding catheter based at least in part on the detected transition between turbulent and laminar blood flow to locate the destination blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for locating and cannulating a patient'"'"'s circulatory structure, comprising:
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a catheter comprising;
a flexible shaft having an open lumen dimensioned to receive a payload;
a Doppler sensor disposed at a distal end of the flexible shaft, the Doppler sensor sensing blood flow velocity within a patient'"'"'s circulatory structure accessed by the distal end of the flexible shaft;
a communication medium coupled with the Doppler sensor, the communication medium transmitting the sensed blood flow velocity to a proximal end of the flexible shaft; and
a processing device coupled to the communication medium, the processing device processing the sensed blood flow velocity to produce turbulence level information indicative of a transition between turbulent blood flow and laminar blood flow. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification