pH measuring balloon
First Claim
1. A device for detecting plaque within a body vessel, said device comprising:
- an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end;
a double-walled balloon disposed about a portion of the elongated shaft proximate the distal end of the elongated shaft; and
means for detecting the pH of the material in the body vessel.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to devices and methods for measuring the pH of blood in the vicinity of a vulnerable plaque. A balloon including an opto-electric device may be positioned proximate a vulnerable plaque. The balloon can be inflated to partially occlude blood flow enabling interaction between lipid laden blood and pH-sensitive material either within the balloon or on the wall(s) of the balloon. The selected pH-sensitive material is one whose optical properties change as a function of the pH of blood in the vasculature. An opto-electric device may be used for measuring the optical property and/or the change in the optical characteristics of the pH-sensitive compound.
40 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A device for detecting plaque within a body vessel, said device comprising:
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an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; a double-walled balloon disposed about a portion of the elongated shaft proximate the distal end of the elongated shaft; and means for detecting the pH of the material in the body vessel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A device for detecting plaque within a body vessel, said device comprising:
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an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; a balloon disposed about a portion of the elongated shaft proximate the distal end of the elongated shaft;
wherein the outer surface of the ballon further comprises a pH-sensitive material; andmeans for detecting the pH of the material in the body vessel. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method for detecting plaque within a body vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a catheter comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, an inflatable double-walled balloon having an inner wall and an outer wall permeable to pH-indicative compound, said inner and outer walls enclosing a space for holding a pH-sensitive material therebetween, said double-walled balloon disposed about a portion of the elongated shaft proximate the distal end of said elongated shaft; inserting the distal end of the catheter into a body vessel, positioning the double-walled balloon proximate a plaque, inflating said double-walled balloon enabling contact between the outer-most surface of the double-walled balloon and one or more pH-indicative compounds to enable flow of said pH-indicative compound across said permeable outer wall of the double-walled balloon; and measuring the pH of the material within the body vessel by detecting a change in one or more properties of the pH-sensitive material enclosed between the inner and outer walls of the double-walled balloon. - View Dependent Claims (47)
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48. A method for detecting plaque within a body vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a catheter comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, an inflatable single-walled balloon having a pH-sensitive material on the outer surface of the balloon wall, said single-walled balloon disposed about a portion of the elongated shaft proximate the distal end of said elongated shaft; inserting the distal end of the catheter into a body vessel, positioning the single-walled balloon proximate a plaque, inflating said single-walled balloon enabling contact between the outer-most surface of the single-walled balloon and one or more pH-indicative compounds in the body vessel; and measuring the pH of the material within the body vessel by detecting a change in one or more property of the pH-sensitive material on the outer surface of the single-walled balloon.
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49. A method for detecting plaque within a body vessel, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a catheter comprising an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, an inflatable balloon comprised of a pH-sensitive material, said balloon disposed about a portion of the elongated shaft proximate the distal end of said elongated shaft; inserting the distal end of the catheter into a body vessel, positioning said balloon proximate a plaque, inflating the balloon enabling contact between the outer-most surface of the balloon and one or more pH-indicative compounds in the body vessel; and measuring the pH of the material within the body vessel by detecting a change in one or more properties of the wall comprising the inflatable balloon.
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Specification