CATHETER FOR IN VIVO IMAGING

• US 20090018393A1
• Filed: 07/14/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Dick, Larry, Milner, Thomas E., Sims, Daniel D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,622,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0062 Arrangements for scanning
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6852 Catheters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4461 Features of the scanning mechanism, e.g. for moving the transducer within the housing of the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/0183 Rapid exchange or monorail catheters
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0052 Localized reinforcement, e.g. where only a specific part of the catheter is reinforced, for rapid exchange guidewire port

Abstract

A catheter for in vivo imaging comprising a monolithic outer sheath terminating in a monolithic atraumatic tip having a guidewire lumen. The catheter for in vivo imaging comprising a rotary drive shaft that passes through a central lumen of the monolithic outer sheath to impart rotary motion.

Claims

1. A catheter for in vivo imaging comprising a monolithic catheter sheath body defining a central lumen and a distal tip, the distal tip forming a distal terminus of the central lumen and having a guidewire lumen formed therein, the guidewire lumen having a guidewire entrance port and a guidewire exit port, the guidewire entrance port and the guidewire exit port each being positioned distal the distal terminus of the central lumen.

2. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the monolithic sheath body includes a single continuous piece of material containing no joints from the proximal end of the sheath body to the distal end of the distal tip.

3. The catheter of claim 1, further comprising an optical train positioned with the central lumen.

4. The catheter of claim 3, wherein the optical train further comprises an optical fiber, a gradient index lens, a prism, a housing concentrically engaged about the optical fiber, the gradient index lens, and the prism, and a rotary drive shaft coupled to a proximal end of the housing.

5. The catheter of claim 4, wherein the housing further comprises a metal tube having an opening in a wall thereof, the opening being in optical alignment with the prism.

6. The catheter of claim 4, wherein the rotary drive shaft further comprises a stranded hollow core shaft coupled to the housing, wherein the optical fiber passes axially through the stranded hollow core shaft.

7. The catheter of claim 6, wherein the stranded hollow core shaft further comprises a helically wound wire shaft.

8. The catheter of claim 4, further comprising a second housing coupled to a proximal end of the rotary drive shaft.

9. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the monolithic sheath body further comprises a sheath material which is at least partially optically transparent.

10. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the guidewire entrance port opens to a distal end of the distal tip and the guidewire exit port opens to a side wall of the distal tip.

11. The catheter of claim 1, wherein a distal portion of the sheath body has a greater flexibility that a proximal portion of the sheath body.

12. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the durometer of the sheath is varied along the length of the monolithic catheter sheath to reduce non-uniform rotational distortion.

13. The catheter of claim 1, wherein the guidewire lumen includes a diameter that is varied from the proximal portion to the monolithic distal tip.

14. A catheter for in vivo imaging, comprising a rotary drive shaft including a stranded hollow core shaft having a plurality of metal wires and a rotary drive shaft shaft lumen.

15. The catheter of claim 14, wherein the metal wires are helically wound.

16. The catheter of claim 14, further comprising a metal hypotube including a tube lumen, wherein the metal hypotube is coaxially coupled to at least a portion of the stranded hollow core shaft.

17. The catheter of claim 16, wherein the metal hypotube comprises nitinol.

18. The catheter of claim 16, wherein the metal hypotube is coaxially coupled to the stranded hollow core shaft to reduce non-uniform rotational distortion.

19. The catheter of claim 14, wherein the metal wires include an inner helical stranded portion and an outer helical stranded portion.

20. The catheter of claim 16, wherein the metal hypotube includes a thickness varied along its length to impart variable stiffness along the longitudinal axis of the metal hypotube

21. The catheter of claim 14, wherein the rotary drive draft includes a torsion/bending ratio to reduce non-uniform rotational distortion.

22. The catheter of claim 14, wherein the rotary drive shaft includes a lateral flexibility of the material at the proximal end to a specific point and an increased lateral flexibility from the proximal end to the distal segments of the rotary drive shaft.

23. A process of making a monolithic catheter sheath comprising the steps of:

a. forming a monolithic sheath of material defining a sheath lumen beginning at the proximal end and terminating near the distal end of the sheath,

b. forming a monolithic distal tip to the monolithic sheath, and

c. forming a guidewire lumen through the monolithic distal tip of the sheath, the guidewire lumen having an entrance port and an exit port.

24. The process of claim 23, wherein step (c) further comprises forming the guidewire entrance port at a distal end of the distal tip and forming the guidewire exit port at a side wall of the distal tip, such that the guidewire lumen has a generally curvilinear longitudinal shape.