Method and system for spectral examination of vascular walls through blood during cardiac motion
First Claim
1. A method for optically examining vessel walls of a blood vessel with a probe through intervening fluid, the method comprising:
- inserting the probe into the blood vessel;
generating optical signals with the probe and directing the optical signals to the vessel walls;
receiving optical signals from the vessel walls through the intervening fluid at the probe;
analyzing the received optical signals to perform a proximity analysis to determine whether the probe is close enough to the vessel walls to enable assessment of the vessel walls by comparison of the received optical signals to a reference relating to a known characteristic of said intervening fluid; and
using the received optical signals to assess the vessel walls using spectral analysis of the optical signals when the probe is determined to be close enough to the vessels walls from the proximity analysis to enable the assessment of the vessel walls by the spectral analysis.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for improving the treatment and/or examination of vessel walls through fluid, such as blood, functions by identifying the points in time when the catheter is closest to the vessel wall or farthest from the vessel wall. Identification of this relative location enables improved spectral readings in larger vessels. In short, instead of trying to overcome motion (e.g., by centering the catheter), this approach takes advantage of motion by identify times when the catheter is closer to the vessel wall, in order to gather more useful spectral information or improve the efficacy of the treatment of the vessel walls. In the specific example, the invention is used for near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. In some embodiments, the catheter head is designed to induce relative movement between the head and the vessel walls.
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Citations
62 Claims
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1. A method for optically examining vessel walls of a blood vessel with a probe through intervening fluid, the method comprising:
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inserting the probe into the blood vessel; generating optical signals with the probe and directing the optical signals to the vessel walls; receiving optical signals from the vessel walls through the intervening fluid at the probe; analyzing the received optical signals to perform a proximity analysis to determine whether the probe is close enough to the vessel walls to enable assessment of the vessel walls by comparison of the received optical signals to a reference relating to a known characteristic of said intervening fluid; and using the received optical signals to assess the vessel walls using spectral analysis of the optical signals when the probe is determined to be close enough to the vessels walls from the proximity analysis to enable the assessment of the vessel walls by the spectral analysis. - 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)
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25. A method for controlling diagnostic or therapeutic applications, the method comprising:
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inserting a probe into a blood vessel; generating optical signals with the probe and directing the optical signals to the vessel walls; receiving the optical signals from the vessel walls through intervening fluid at the probe; analyzing the received optical signals to perform a proximity analysis to determine whether the optical signals are indicative of the vessel walls and/or the intervening fluid by comparison of the received optical signals to a reference relating to a known characteristic of said intervening fluid; using the received optical signals to assess the vessel walls using spectral analysis of the optical signals when the probe is determined to be close enough to the vessels walls from the proximity analysis to enable the assessment of the vessel walls by the spectral analysis; and initiating diagnosis or treatment of the vessel walls in response to the step of analyzing the optical signals if the probe is determined to be close enough to the vessels walls to enable the diagnosis or treatment. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method for optically examining vessel walls of a blood vessel with a probe through intervening fluid, the method comprising:
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inserting the probe into the blood vessel; generating optical signals with the probe and directing the optical signals to the vessel walls; receiving optical signals from the vessel walls through the intervening fluid at the probe; analyzing the received optical signals indicative of a spectral response of the vessel walls to determine proximity information concerning a proximity between the probe and the vessel walls by comparison of the received optical signals to a reference relating to a known characteristic of said intervening fluid; and using the received optical signals to assess the vessel walls when the probe is determined to have a desired proximity to the vessels walls using spectral analysis. - View Dependent Claims (50)
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51. A method for optically examining vessel walls of a blood vessel with a probe through intervening fluid, the method comprising:
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inserting the probe into the blood vessel; generating optical signals with the probe and directing the optical signals to the vessel walls; inducing movement between the probe and the vessel walls; receiving optical signals from the vessel walls with the probe; determining whether the probe is close enough to the vessel walls to enable assessment of the vessel walls by comparison of the received optical signals to a reference relating to a known characteristic of said intervening fluid; and using the received optical signals to assess the vessel walls when the probe is determined to be close enough to the vessels walls using spectral analysis. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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55. A system for examining vessel walls of a blood vessel, the system comprising:
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a probe configured to be inserted into the blood vessel for optically examining blood vessel walls by emitting optical signals and receiving optical signals from the vessel walls through intervening fluid; an optical source for generating the optical signals; a detector system for detecting the received optical signals from the vessel walls; and a controller for controlling the optical source and monitoring the response of the detector system to determine a spectral content of the optical signals from the vessel walls, the controller comparing the spectral content of the optical signals to a spectral response of the intervening fluid to perform a proximity analysis to determine whether the probe is close enough to the vessel walls to enable assessment of the vessel walls, the controller using the received optical signals to assess the vessel walls when the probe is determined to be close enough to the vessels walls to enable the assessment of the vessel walls using spectral analysis of the vessel walls. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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Specification