Selectable eccentric remodeling and/or ablation of atherosclerotic material
First Claim
1. A catheter system for eccentric removal of atherosclerotic material from a blood vessel of a patient, the system comprising:
- an elongate flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end with an axis therebetween, and a lumen extending between the proximal end and the distal end;
an aspiration source coupled with the lumen, wherein the lumen is configured for aspiration of debris from within the blood vessel when coupled to the aspiration source;
a restenosis inhibitor advanceable distally within the lumen so as to inhibit restenosis of the blood vessel, wherein the restenosis inhibitor comprises a brachytherapy catheter having a radiation source;
a radially expandable structure near the distal end of the catheter body, the radially expandable body including a plurality of flexible non-overlapping struts;
a plurality of electrodes supported by the radially expandable structure and oriented to be urged radially against atherosclerotic material when the expandable structure expands, the plurality of electrodes comprising a circumferentially distributed array of electrodes of which each electrode is selectively energizable, wherein adjacent electrodes are axially offset from one another;
an atherosclerotic material detector disposed near the distal end of the catheter body configured for circumferential measurement and detection of atherosclerotic material; and
a power source electrically coupled to the electrodes with a controller, the controller configured to selectively energize an eccentric subset of the electrode array in response to the measured atherosclerotic material so as to eccentrically ablate the measured atherosclerotic material.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A catheter and catheter system for eccentric remodeling and/or removal of atherosclerotic material of a blood vessel of a patient include an elongate flexible catheter body with a radially expandable structure. A plurality of electrodes or other electrosurgical energy delivery surfaces can radially engage atherosclerotic material when the structure expands. An atherosclerotic material detector near the distal end of the catheter body may measure circumferential atherosclerotic material distribution, and a power source selectively energizes the electrodes to eccentrically remodel the measured atherosclerotic material.
1571 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A catheter system for eccentric removal of atherosclerotic material from a blood vessel of a patient, the system comprising:
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an elongate flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end with an axis therebetween, and a lumen extending between the proximal end and the distal end; an aspiration source coupled with the lumen, wherein the lumen is configured for aspiration of debris from within the blood vessel when coupled to the aspiration source; a restenosis inhibitor advanceable distally within the lumen so as to inhibit restenosis of the blood vessel, wherein the restenosis inhibitor comprises a brachytherapy catheter having a radiation source; a radially expandable structure near the distal end of the catheter body, the radially expandable body including a plurality of flexible non-overlapping struts; a plurality of electrodes supported by the radially expandable structure and oriented to be urged radially against atherosclerotic material when the expandable structure expands, the plurality of electrodes comprising a circumferentially distributed array of electrodes of which each electrode is selectively energizable, wherein adjacent electrodes are axially offset from one another; an atherosclerotic material detector disposed near the distal end of the catheter body configured for circumferential measurement and detection of atherosclerotic material; and a power source electrically coupled to the electrodes with a controller, the controller configured to selectively energize an eccentric subset of the electrode array in response to the measured atherosclerotic material so as to eccentrically ablate the measured atherosclerotic material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A catheter for remodeling of atherosclerotic material of a blood vessel of a patient, the catheter comprising:
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an elongate flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end with lumen therebetween; a radially expandable basket near the distal end of the catheter body, the basket formed from a plurality of struts and the basket having a proximal portion and a distal portion with an intermediate portion disposed therebetween, wherein each strut includes a region of localized widening in a central portion of the strut; and a circumferential electrode array supported by the radially expandable basket and distributed circumferentially about the intermediate portion of the radially expandable basket, wherein each electrode of the electrode array is selectively energizable, wherein each electrode is supported by one of the regions of localized widening, wherein each region of localized widening does not extend substantially beyond its associated electrode; an aspiration port providing fluid communication between the aspiration lumen and an interior of the basket; and a power source electrically coupled to the electrodes with a controller, the controller configured to selectively energize an eccentric subset of the electrode array in response to a circumferential measurement of the atherosclerotic material so as to selectably remodel adjacent eccentric atherosclerotic material while the basket is expanded within the blood vessel.
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13. A system for eccentric removal of material from a body lumen of a patient, the system comprising:
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an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end with an axis therebetween; a radially expandable structure near the distal end of the catheter body, the radially expandable structure comprising a plurality of struts, each strut including a region of localized widening in a central portion of the strut; a plurality of electrodes supported on the radially expandable structure and oriented to be urged radially against the material when the expandable structure expands within the body lumen, the plurality of electrodes comprising a circumferentially distributed array of electrodes of which each electrode is selectively energizable, wherein each electrode is supported by one of the regions of localized widening, wherein each region of localized widening does not extend substantially beyond its associated electrode; a material detector disposed near the distal end of the catheter body configured for circumferential measurement and detection of the material; and a power source electrically coupled to the electrodes with a controller, the controller configured to selectively energize an eccentric subset of the electrodes in response to the circumferential measurement and detection of the material so as to eccentrically ablate the measured material.
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Specification