Ultrasound energy driven intraventricular catheter to treat ischemia
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for stimulating angiogenesis in a biological tissue, comprising:
- a catheter including a distal portion configured to be inserted into a body lumen of a patient;
a tissue stimulating element at the distal portion of the catheter, the tissue stimulating element configured to radiate ultrasonic energy at a power that causes cellular damage to biological tissue and subsequent production of an angiogenesis stimulating substance;
a power source that provides electrical energy to the tissue stimulating element; and
a controller configured to control the temperature of the tissue stimulating element to a temperature at or below about 80 deg. C.,wherein the tissue stimulating element is configured to radiate the ultrasonic energy through a surface of the biological tissue to a region below the surface of the biological tissue at which the ultrasonic energy causes the cellular damage without causing substantial damage to the surface directly above the cellular damage.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for improving blood flow to an ischemic region (e.g., myocardial ischemia) a patient is provided. An ultrasonic transducer is positioned proximate to the ischemic region. Ultrasonic energy is applied at a frequency at or above 1 MHz to create one or more thermal lesions in the ischemic region of the myocardium. The thermal lesions can have a gradient of sizes. The ultrasound transducer can have a curved shape so that ultrasound energy emitted by the transducer converges to a site within the myocardium, to create a thermal lesion without injuring the epicardium or endocardium.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus for stimulating angiogenesis in a biological tissue, comprising:
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a catheter including a distal portion configured to be inserted into a body lumen of a patient; a tissue stimulating element at the distal portion of the catheter, the tissue stimulating element configured to radiate ultrasonic energy at a power that causes cellular damage to biological tissue and subsequent production of an angiogenesis stimulating substance; a power source that provides electrical energy to the tissue stimulating element; and a controller configured to control the temperature of the tissue stimulating element to a temperature at or below about 80 deg. C., wherein the tissue stimulating element is configured to radiate the ultrasonic energy through a surface of the biological tissue to a region below the surface of the biological tissue at which the ultrasonic energy causes the cellular damage without causing substantial damage to the surface directly above the cellular damage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for stimulating angiogenesis in a biological tissue, comprising:
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a catheter including a distal portion configured to be inserted into a body lumen of a patient; a tissue stimulating element at the distal portion of the catheter, the tissue stimulating element configured to radiate ultrasonic energy at a power that causes cellular damage to biological tissue and subsequent production of an angiogenesis stimulating substance; a power source that provides electrical energy to the tissue stimulating element; and a controller configured to control the temperature of the tissue stimulating element to a temperature at or below about 80 deg. C., wherein the tissue stimulating element includes an array of tissue stimulating devices positioned adjacent to each other, wherein each of the tissue stimulating devices are independently coupled to the power source and are selectively controlled by the controller. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for stimulating angiogenesis in a biological tissue, comprising:
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a catheter configured to be inserted into a body lumen of a patient; a tissue stimulating element located at a distal portion of the catheter for causing the production of an angiogenesis stimulating substance; a power source that provides energy to the tissue stimulating element; and a controller configured to control the temperature of the tissue stimulating element to a temperature at or below about 80 deg. C., wherein the tissue stimulating element is adapted to not form a channel in the tissue for the production of the angiogenesis stimulating substance, and wherein the tissue stimulating element includes an array of tissue stimulating devices positioned adjacent to each other and wherein each of the tissue stimulating devices is configured to be activated or controlled independently of one another. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. An apparatus for creating a thermal lesion in a biological tissue, comprising:
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a catheter configured to be inserted into a body lumen of a patient; a tissue stimulating element at a distal portion of the catheter, the tissue stimulating element configured to radiate energy, the tissue stimulating element having a shape that focuses the radiated energy to a focus region spaced apart from the tissue stimulating element such that when the tissue stimulating element is outside of a biological tissue, the radiated energy creates a thermal lesion at the focus region within the biological tissue without any thermal damage or any significant thermal damage to a surface of the biological tissue directly above the thermal lesion; and a power source that provides energy to the tissue stimulating element. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification