Excimer laser catheter
First Claim
1. An excimer laser catheter, comprising:
- a catheter shaft containing optical fibers,a tip containing said optical fibers and a lumen, said tip extending from the catheter shaft, having a length of at least 1 cm and a diameter less than 1 millimeter,the catheter shaft having a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the tip such that the shaft is configured to be stiffer and less flexible than the tip so as to be pushable to push the tip into a desired site even though the tip negotiates arterial bends to reach the desired site.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus, of providing endovascular therapy. The steps include arranging optical fibers within a catheter, the catheter having a tip whose length is at least 1 cm and whose diameter of less than 1 millimeter, connecting an excimer laser to the optical fibers; and delivering laser energy from the excimer laser in excess of a fluence of 60-mJ/mm2 at 40 Hertz through the optical fibers. The delivering of the laser energy may be to non-calcified or calcified deposits of an atherosclerotic lesion to ablate the same. The method also includes the step of inserting the catheter through an artery by pushing the same until the tip is in within laser energy striking distance of the atherosclerotic lesion.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An excimer laser catheter, comprising:
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a catheter shaft containing optical fibers, a tip containing said optical fibers and a lumen, said tip extending from the catheter shaft, having a length of at least 1 cm and a diameter less than 1 millimeter, the catheter shaft having a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the tip such that the shaft is configured to be stiffer and less flexible than the tip so as to be pushable to push the tip into a desired site even though the tip negotiates arterial bends to reach the desired site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for providing endovascular therapy, comprising:
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an elongated catheter shaft containing a plurality of optical fibers, a tip extending from the elongated catheter shaft, the tip having a length of at least 1 centimeter and a diameter of less than 1 millimeter, the elongated catheter shaft having a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the tip such that the shaft is configured to be stiffer and less flexible than the tip so as to be pushable to push the tip into a desired site even though the tip negotiates arterial bends to reach the desired site; and an excimer laser connected to the optical fibers and arranged for delivery of laser energy through the optical fibers. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of providing laser energy to a blockage in an artery, comprising the steps of:
providing an elongated catheter shaft to contain a plurality of optical fibers, providing a tip to the elongated catheter shaft that extends from the elongated catheter shaft, the tip containing said optical fibers and having a lumen, a length of at least 1 cm and a diameter of less than 1 millimeter; connecting an excimer laser to the optical fibers; configuring the elongated catheter shaft with a larger diameter than that of the tip so that the elongated catheter shaft is stiffer than the tip, enabling pushing of the elongated catheter shaft to move the tip to a desired site even though the tip negotiates arterial bends to reach the desired site; and delivering energy from the excimer laser through the optical fibers. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
Specification