System, devices, and methods including catheters configured to monitor and inhibit biofilm formation

• US 8,702,640 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2010
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Dacey, Ralph G. Jr., Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Kare, Jordin T., Leuthardt, Eric C., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Rivet, Dennis J., Smith, Michael A., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEAK, LESLIE R
• Application Number:
  US12/927,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20110152750A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 604/6.08, 604/8, 604/9, 604/20, 600/9, 607/88, 607/92, 607/94
• US Class Current: 604/8
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/30 Joints
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/32 for the hip
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/48 Operating or control means, e.g. from outside the body, control of sphincters
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/481 Acoustic or audible means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/482 Electrical means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30087 piezoelectric
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/3067 for data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30677 Means for introducing or releasing pharmaceutical products, e.g. antibiotics, into the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/0002 for data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2310/0097 Coating or prosthesis-covering structure made of pharmaceutical products, e.g. antibiotics
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/205 for promoting a biological process
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37252 Details of algorithms or data aspects of communication system, e.g. handshaking, transmitting specific data or segmenting data
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3785 generated by biological activity or substance, e.g. body movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3787 from an external energy source

Abstract

Systems, devices, methods, and compositions are described for providing an actively-controllable disinfecting implantable device configured to, for example, treat or prevent an infection in a biological subject.

Claims

1. A catheter device, comprising:

a body structure having an outer surface and an inner surface defining one or more fluid-flow passageways;

a plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides configured to direct an emitted energy stimulus to one or more regions proximate at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the body structure;

one or more energy emitters configured to emit an energy stimulus, the one or more energy emitters operatively coupled to the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides; and

at least one optical router operably coupled to at least one of the one or more energy emitters, the optical router configured to guide an energy stimulus based on one or more selection rules.

2. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides are configured to provide a spatially patterned energy stimulus having at least a first region and a second region different from the first region, the second region having at least one of an intensity, a phase, and a polarization different from the first region.

3. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the optical router is configured to guide an energy stimulus based on at least one of a polarization, a wavelength, and a waveguide-specific address.

4. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the optical router is activatable via at least one of an electro-mechanical component, an opto-mechanical component, an electro-optic component, and an acousto-optic component.

5. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides are selectively actuatable via one or more light movable liquid crystals positionable between at least an activated position and an inactivated position, wherein the one or more light movable liquid crystals are configured to change positions via interrogation with optical energy.

6. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides include one or more thermal energy waveguides.

7. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides is an ultrasound guiding waveguide.

8. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein two or more of the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides are coupled to an overmoded electromagnetic energy waveguide, the overmoded electromagnetic energy waveguide configured to propagate electromagnetic energy in at least a first mode and a second mode different from the first mode, the first mode configured to actuate one or more of the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides, the second mode configured to actuate a different one or more of the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides.

9. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the one or more energy emitters are configured to provide a spatially patterned energy stimulus having at least a first region and a second region different from the first region, the first region comprising one of a spatially patterned electromagnetic energy stimulus, a spatially patterned electrical energy stimulus, a spatially patterned acoustic energy stimulus, or a spatially patterned thermal energy stimulus, and the second region comprising a different one of a spatially patterned electromagnetic energy stimulus, a spatially patterned electrical energy stimulus, a spatially patterned acoustic energy stimulus, or a spatially patterned thermal energy stimulus.

10. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one outer internally reflective coating on the body structure, the at least one outer internally reflective coating configured to internally reflect at least a portion of an emitted energy stimulus within an interior of at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

11. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one inner internally reflective coating on the body structure, the at least one inner internally reflective coating configured to internally reflect at least a portion of an emitted energy stimulus within an interior of at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

12. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one reflective surface forming part of at least a portion of the body structure that is reflective at a first wavelength and transmissive at a second wavelength different from the first wavelength.

13. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one reflective surface forming part of at least a portion of the body structure that is reflective at a first polarization and transmissive at a second polarization.

14. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one reflective surface forming part of at least a portion of the body structure that is reflective at a first power level and transmissive at a second power level.

15. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more optical materials forming part of at least a portion of the body structure, the one or more optical materials configured to limit an amount of the energy stimulus that can traverse within the one or more fluid-flow passageways and through the outer surface of the body structure.

16. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more optical materials on at least a portion of the body structure configured to internally reflect at least a portion of an emitted energy stimulus from the one or more energy emitters into an interior of at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

17. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more energy emitters is configured to emit an energy stimulus from an interior of at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways to an exterior of at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

18. The catheter device of claim 1, wherein the one or more energy emitters are configured to emit a spatially patterned energy stimulus comprising at least a first region and a second region, the second region having at least one of an emission intensity, an emission phase, an emission polarization, and an emission wavelength different from the first region.

19. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

a power source, the power source including at least one of a thermoelectric generator, a piezoelectric generator, an electromechanical generator, and a biomechanical-energy harvesting generator.

20. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

a transcutaneous energy transfer system, the transcutaneous energy transfer system electromagnetically, magnetically, acoustically, optically, inductively, electrically, or capacitively coupled to the one or more energy emitters.

21. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more sensors configured to detect a microbial presence in one or more regions proximate at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the body structure.

22. The catheter device of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more sensors configured to detect a microbial presence in one or more regions proximate at least one of the outer surface of the body structure, the inner surface of the body structure, and within at least one of the one or more fluid-flow passageways.

23. The catheter device of claim 22, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect a location associated with a microbial presence.

24. The catheter device of claim 22, further comprising:

a computing device operably coupled to the one or more sensors, the computing device configured to actuate at least one of the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides in response to a scheduled program, an external command, a history of a previous microbial presence, and a history of a previous actuation.

25. A catheter device, comprising:

a body structure having an outer surface and an inner surface defining one or more fluid-flow passageways;

a plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides configured to direct an emitted energy stimulus to one or more regions proximate at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the body structure;

one or more energy emitters configured to emit an energy stimulus, the one or more energy emitters operatively coupled to the plurality of selectively actuatable energy waveguides; and

one or more polarization rotators operably coupled to at least one of the one or more energy emitters.

26. A catheter device, comprising:

a body structure having an outer surface and an inner surface defining one or more fluid-flow passageways, the body structure including one or more selectively actuatable energy waveguides extending over a portion of a surface of the body structure, the one or more selectively actuatable energy waveguides configured to direct an emitted energy stimulus from one or more energy emitters to one or more regions proximate the surface of the body structure;

at least one optical router operably coupled to at least one of the one or more selectively actuatable energy waveguides, the optical router configured to guide an energy stimulus based on one or more selection rules;

one or more sensors configured to detect a spectral property associated with the presence of a microbial colonization in the one or more regions proximate the surface of the body structure; and

one or more switches associated with one or more selectively actuatable energy waveguides, the one or more switches configured to establish or interrupt a connection between the selectively actuatable energy waveguides and respective one or more energy emitters.

27. The catheter device of claim 26, wherein the one or more switches include at least one acoustically active material.

28. The catheter device of claim 26, wherein the one or more switches include at least one thermo-optic switch.