Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction method
First Claim
1. A method of delivering a gas to a lung region comprising:
- steering a bronchoscope through an air passageway to position a distal end of the bronchoscope near a diseased target region, wherein the diseased target region comprises a hyper-inflated cavity in a lung;
inserting a catheter through a lumen of the bronchoscope to position a distal end of the catheter near or in the diseased target region;
at least partially deflating the diseased target region by exposing the diseased target region to an ambient environment through the catheter to equilibrate the diseased target region with the ambient environment such that the diseased target region is at ambient pressure;
placing, using the catheter, an occlusion device within the air passageway leading to the diseased target region after equilibrating the diseased target region with the ambient environment; and
delivering, using the catheter, the gas to the diseased target region, wherein the gas is an inflammation-triggering gas for treating the diseased target region wherein the diseased target region is maintained substantially at ambient pressure during the placing and the delivering.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of minimally invasively reducing a volume of a hyper-inflated target section of diseased lung comprising the steps of introducing a bronchoscope into a patient'"'"'s airway to a position adjacent the target section and equilibrating air within the target section with atmospheric air to at least partially deflate the target lung section; injecting an inflammation-causing substance into the target section to precipitate adhesion of the walls within the target lung section, preventing substantial re-inflation of the target section by occluding an airway upstream of the target section for a period of time, and removing the airway occlusion after the target section has substantially permanently been reduced in volume. The injected substance can be autologous blood or a constituent thereof.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of delivering a gas to a lung region comprising:
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steering a bronchoscope through an air passageway to position a distal end of the bronchoscope near a diseased target region, wherein the diseased target region comprises a hyper-inflated cavity in a lung; inserting a catheter through a lumen of the bronchoscope to position a distal end of the catheter near or in the diseased target region; at least partially deflating the diseased target region by exposing the diseased target region to an ambient environment through the catheter to equilibrate the diseased target region with the ambient environment such that the diseased target region is at ambient pressure; placing, using the catheter, an occlusion device within the air passageway leading to the diseased target region after equilibrating the diseased target region with the ambient environment; and delivering, using the catheter, the gas to the diseased target region, wherein the gas is an inflammation-triggering gas for treating the diseased target region wherein the diseased target region is maintained substantially at ambient pressure during the placing and the delivering. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification