Wireless vascular monitoring implants

• US 10,806,352 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2018
• Issued: 10/20/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Foundry Innovation & Research 1, Limited
• Original Assignee: Foundry Innovation & Research 1, Limited
• Inventors: Sweeney, Fiachra M., Gifford, III, Hanson S., Johnson, Jessi, Martin, Pablo, Raghunathan, Shriram, Sheridan, Stephen, Sutton, Douglas S., Wetterling, Friedrich, Hanley, Conor M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Kaylee R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Jay B
• Application Number:
  US16/177,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20190076033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0219 of externally powered implanted units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/066 catheters therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/12 Manufacturing methods specially adapted for producing sensors for in-vivo measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0031 Implanted circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02007 Evaluating blood vessel condition, e.g. elasticity, compliance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02152 specially adapted for venous pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/076 Permanent implantations telemetry using implanted circuitry A61B5/0031; implanted stimulators for therapy A61N1/3605, A61N1/362, A61N1/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1076 for measuring dimensions inside body cavities, e.g. using catheters A61B3/1005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4875 Hydration status, fluid retention of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/686 Permanently implanted devices, e.g. pacemakers, other stimulators, biochips A61B5/6861 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6862 Stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6869 Heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6876 Blood vessel
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6882 Anchoring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7225 Details of analog processing, e.g. isolation amplifier, gain or sensitivity adjustment, filtering, baseline or drift compensation A61B5/30, A61B5/316 take precedence; transformers for specific applications H01F38/00; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/82 Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07; instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts A61F2/95; for closing wounds, or holding wounds closed A61B17/04 - A61B17/115; dilators A61M29/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0002 for data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 : for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 : for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

Wireless, variable inductance and resonant circuit-based vascular monitoring devices, systems, methodologies, and techniques are disclosed that can be used to assist healthcare professionals in predicting, preventing, and diagnosing various heart-related and other health conditions.

Claims

1. A wireless vascular monitoring implant adapted to be deployed in a patient vasculature, positioned at a monitoring location in a vascular lumen and implanted in contact with the lumen wall, said implant comprising a resilient sensor construct configured to dimensionally expand and contract with natural movement of the lumen wall, wherein:

said resilient sensor construct comprises a coil forming a variable inductance resonant circuit configured and dimensioned to extend circumferentially around the inside of the vascular lumen in engagement with the lumen wall when implanted within the lumen;

said resilient sensor construct is configured to move with expansion and contraction of the lumen wall;

the inductance of the resilient sensor construct changes in a known relationship to the dimensional expansion and contraction of the lumen wall;

when energized, said resilient sensor construct produces a wireless signal indicative of said inductance, said signal being readable wirelessly outside the vascular lumen to determine a dimension of the vascular lumen;

the resilient sensor construct further comprises a frame;

said coil is formed of multiple strands of conductive wire wrapped on the frame; and

said frame consisting of a single cylindrical loop of thin, resilient metal having a sinusoidal shape or structure of repeating “

Z”

shapes so as to collapse into a delivery sheath to expand upon deployment from said delivery sheath into the vascular lumen.

2. A wireless implant sensor system, comprising:

a resilient sensor construct comprising a coil configured and dimensioned to be implanted in a patient vascular lumen in contact with the lumen wall around the inner circumference of the lumen wall and to dimensionally expand and contract with natural movement of the lumen wall, wherein an electrical property of said resilient sensor construct changes in a known relationship to dimensional expansion and contraction thereof; and

an antenna positionable external to the patient'"'"'s body configured to receive a wireless signal from said resilient sensor construct indicative of said electrical property to enable determination of a dimension of the vascular lumen; and

wherein;

said coil of the resilient sensor construct has a variable inductance correlated to its dimensional expansion and contraction along at least one dimension of the vascular lumen; and

said resilient sensor construct produces, when energized by an energy source, a signal indicative of inductance in said resilient sensor construct readable wirelessly outside the patient'"'"'s body such that a dimension of the vascular lumen may be determined therefrom;

said coil comprises a resonant circuit having said variable inductance and a fixed capacitance to define a resonant frequency, wherein the resonant frequency varies based on changes in shape of said coil, said signal readable outside the patient'"'"'s body being correlated with said resonant frequency;

said coil is configured to be energized by a magnetic field directed at the coil from outside the patient'"'"'s body; and

said resilient sensor construct further comprises a resilient metal frame consisting of a single cylindrical loop, and said coil comprises multiple strands of conductive wire wrapped with at least one turn around the single cylindrical loop of the resilient metal frame.

3. A wireless vascular monitoring implant and sensor system, comprising:

a sensor construct adapted to be deployed in a patient vena cava, positioned at a monitoring location in the vena cava, and implanted in contact with the vena cava wall, said sensor construct being configured to dimensionally expand and contract with natural movement of the vena cava wall, wherein

said sensor construct is configured and dimensioned to extend circumferentially around the inside of the vena cava wall in engagement therewith when implanted within said lumen;

an electrical property of the resilient sensor construct changes in a known relationship to the dimensional expansion and contraction of the vena cava, and

when energized, said resilient sensor construct produces a wireless signal indicative of said electrical property, said signal being readable wirelessly outside said vascular lumen to determine a dimension of the vena cava lumen;

a delivery catheter configured to receive and hold the resilient sensor construct in a compressed state for insertion through the patient'"'"'s vasculature to the monitoring location in the vena cava, said resilient sensor construct configured to expand to engage the vena cava wall upon release from the delivery catheter; and

an antenna positionable external to the patient'"'"'s body configured to receive said wireless signal from said resilient sensor construct indicative of said electrical property to enable determination of the dimension of the vena cava lumen;

wherein the sensor construct comprises;

an expandable and collapsible cylindrical loop frame consisting of a single cylindrical loop;

at least one conductive wire disposed around said frame to form said coil with adjacent substantially parallel wire strands along the frame, said coil forming a variable inductor of a resonant circuit wherein the resonant circuit has a resonant frequency that varies based on changes in shape of said coil; and

said coil produces frequency signal representative of the shape of said coil when energized by a magnetic field directed at the coil.

4. The wireless implant and sensor system of claim 3, wherein the cylindrical loop frame and at least one conductive wire are configured and dimensioned in combination to cause the resonant circuit to change characteristic frequency with natural expansion and contraction of the vena cava in response to changes in patient fluid volume state.