Tissue visualization and manipulation system
First Claim
1. A tissue imaging and manipulation system, comprising:
- a deployment catheter defining at least one lumen therethrough;
a hood comprising a non-inflatable membrane which forms a fluid barrier projecting distally from the deployment catheter and adapted to self-expand into an expanded deployed configuration defining an open area therein, wherein the open area is in fluid communication with the at least one lumen and with an environment external to the hood through an opening defined by the hood; and
a visualization element disposed within or adjacent to the open area of the hood for visualizing tissue adjacent to the open area.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Tissue visualization and manipulation systems are described herein. Such a system may include a deployment catheter and an attached imaging hood deployable into an expanded configuration. In use, the imaging hood is placed against or adjacent to a region of tissue to be imaged in a body lumen that is normally filled with an opaque bodily fluid such as blood. A translucent or transparent fluid, such as saline, can be pumped into the imaging hood until the fluid displaces any blood, thereby leaving a clear region of tissue to be imaged via an imaging element in the deployment catheter. Additionally, any number of therapeutic tools can also be passed through the deployment catheter and into the imaging hood for treating the tissue region of interest.
-
Citations
91 Claims
-
1. A tissue imaging and manipulation system, comprising:
-
a deployment catheter defining at least one lumen therethrough; a hood comprising a non-inflatable membrane which forms a fluid barrier projecting distally from the deployment catheter and adapted to self-expand into an expanded deployed configuration defining an open area therein, wherein the open area is in fluid communication with the at least one lumen and with an environment external to the hood through an opening defined by the hood; and a visualization element disposed within or adjacent to the open area of the hood for visualizing tissue adjacent to the open area. - 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. A method for imaging an immersed region of tissue, comprising:
-
positioning a hood projecting distally from a deployment catheter against or adjacent to the region of tissue to be imaged wherein the hood self-expands into an expanded deployed configuration, and where the hood comprises a non-inflatable membrane which defines an open area therein which is in fluid communication with a lumen defined through the catheter and also with an environment external to the hood through an opening defined by the hood; urging a translucent fluid into the hood via the lumen defined through the deployment catheter such that an opaque fluid is displaced from within the open area of the hood and through the opening into the environment external to the hood; and visualizing the region of tissue through the translucent fluid via a visualization element within or adjacent to the open area. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
-
-
54. A tissue imaging and manipulation system, comprising:
-
a deployment catheter defining at least one lumen therethrough; a hood comprising a non-inflatable membrane which forms a fluid barrier projecting distally from the deployment catheter and adapted to self-expand from a low-profile delivery configuration to an expanded deployed configuration which defines an open area therein, wherein the open area is in fluid communication with the at least one lumen and with an environment external to the hood through an opening defined by the hood; and a visualization element disposed within or adjacent to the open area of the hood for visualizing tissue adjacent to the open area. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74)
-
-
75. A method for imaging an immersed region of tissue, comprising:
-
positioning a hood comprising a non-inflatable membrane and projecting distally from a deployment catheter against or adjacent to the region of tissue to be imaged; transitioning the hood to self-expand from a low-profile delivery configuration into a deployed configuration which defines an open area within; urging a translucent fluid into the open area of the hood via the deployment catheter such that an opaque fluid is displaced from the open area and into an environment external to the hood through an opening defined by the hood; and visualizing the region of tissue through the translucent fluid. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91)
-
Specification