EP0329492A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Laser catheter delivery system
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1989-02-20
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2009-02-20
Abstract
Abstract Laser catheter delivery system for controlled ablation of atheroma, combining laser angioplasty and intra-arterial ultrasonic imaging. In laser ablation of atheroma dosage and directing of the laser light beam represent critical problems, since accurate removal of the atheroma is required without damaging of the arterial wall. The present system comprises a combined laser and ultrasound catheter composed of - means for emitting a laser beam in an artery (209) towards an atheroma (208) for ablation of the atheroma - optical fiber means (205) for feeding laser light from a laser to said emitting means, - an ultrasound transducer (201) for intra-arterial imaging of tissue structures like the atheroma (208), the vessel wall (209) and surrounding tissue, by emitting a pulsed ultrasound beam (202) towards said tissue structures and also arranged to receive backscattered ultrasound from said tissue structures - beam directing means (203, 206) arranged to direct the ultrasound beam (202) towards said tissue structures and also arranged so that the laser beam can be brought into for practical purposes any of the directions the ultrasound beam can assume for imaging, so that the laser beam (207) can be steered towards a portion of the ultrasound image indicating a portion of an atheroma (208) to ablate said portion of the atheroma - receive circuits adapted to receive and process the backscattered ultrasound for imaging of the tissue structures - means for analysing said ultrasound image, either manually or automatically, to determine the presence of atheroma so that said image can be used to direct the laser beam towards the regions in the ultrasound image which have been determined to represent a portion of an atheroma and determine the intensity and the dosage of the laser beam for accurate ablation of said portion of the atheroma.
Inventors
- 👤 Bjorn A. J. Angelsen
- 👤 David Linker
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 03:24
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B8/00; A61B8/06; A61B18/00; A61B18/18; A61B18/20; A61B18/22; A61B18/24; A61B18/245; A61B8/12; A61B8/44; A61B8/4444; A61B8/4461; G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/42; G02B6/4296; A61B17/00; A61B2017/00017; A61B2017/00137; A61B2017/00154; A61B2017/00831; A61B2017/00902; A61B2017/00924; A61B2018/00571; A61B2018/00577; A61B2018/00636; A61B2018/00642; A61B2018/00696; A61B2018/00702; A61B2018/00732; A61B2018/00773; A61B2018/00779; A61B2018/00785; A61B2018/00904; A61B2018/00982; A61B18/1815; A61B2018/1861
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
218 words
An intra-arterial laser angioplasty catheter comprising: - means for emitting a laser beam in an artery towards an atheroma for ablation of the atheroma - optical fiber means for feeding laser light from a laser to said emitting means, - an ultrasound transducer for intra-arterial imaging of tissue structures like the atheroma, the vessel wall and surrounding tissue, by emitting a pulsed ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged to receive backscattered ultrasound from said tissue structures - beam directing means arranged to direct the ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged so that the laser beam can be brought into substantially any direction the ultrasound beam can assume for imaging, so that the laser beam can be steered towards a portion of an ultrasound image indicating a portion of an atheroma to hit said portion of the atheroma, so that the ultrasound image can be used to guide the laser ablation of the atheroma, - said laser beam emitting means and said ultrasound transducer being directed towards each other, and intermediate beam directing means is adapted to deflect said laser beam and said ultrasound beam transversally so that the laser and ultrasound beam after the deflection substantially coincide at a direction off axis from said catheter to hit said portion of the atheroma.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
218 words
An intra-arterial laser angioplasty catheter comprising: - means for emitting a laser beam in an artery towards an atheroma for ablation of the atheroma - optical fiber means for feeding laser light from a laser to said emitting means, - an ultrasound transducer for intra-arterial imaging of tissue structures like the atheroma, the vessel wall and surrounding tissue, by emitting a pulsed ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged to receive backscattered ultrasound from said tissue structures - beam directing means arranged to direct the ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged so that the laser beam can be brought into substantially any direction the ultrasound beam can assume for imaging, so that the laser beam can be steered towards a portion of an ultrasound image indicating a portion of an atheroma to hit said portion of the atheroma, so that the ultrasound image can be used to guide the laser ablation of the atheroma, - said laser beam emitting means and said ultrasound transducer being directed towards each other, and intermediate beam directing means is adapted to deflect said laser beam and said ultrasound beam transversally so that the laser and ultrasound beam after the deflection substantially coincide at a direction off axis from said catheter to hit said portion of the atheroma.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
Intra-arterial laser angioplasty catheter according to claim 1, wherein said beam directing means comprises an inclined mirror device.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
79 words
Intra-arterial laser angioplasty catheter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said directing means is arranged to rotate the ultrasonic beam in a cross section plane of the catheter so as to generate a 2-dimensional cross sectional image of the artery, with the ability to direct the laser beam towards any direction in this image for ablation of any atheroma, indicated in the image either at the same time as doing the imaging, or after the image is generated.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
71 words
Intra-arterial laser angioplasty catheter according to claim 3, wherein means are provided for controlled axial displacement of the catheter in longitudinal direction internally of an artery and means are provided for measuring longitudinal changes in the position of a tip of the catheter for ultrasonic 3-dimensional intraarterial imaging of the artery and the ability to direct the laser beam towards any point within said image for accurate ablation of any atheroma.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
298 words
An intra-arterial laser angioplasty delivery system comprising: - a combined laser and ultrasound catheter composed of - means for emitting a laser beam in an artery towards an atheroma for ablation of the atheroma - optical fiber means for feeding laser light from a laser to said emitting means, - an ultrasound transducer for intra-arterial imaging of tissue structures like the atheroma, the vessel wall and surrounding tissue, by emitting a pulsed ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged to receive backscattered ultrasound from said tissue structures - beam directing means arranged to direct the ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged so that the laser beam can be brought into substantially any of the directions the ultrasound beam can assume for imaging, so that the laser beam can be steered towards a portion of the ultrasound image indicating a portion of an atheroma to ablate said portion of the atheroma - said laser beam emitting means and said ultrasound transducer being directed towards each other, and intermediate beam directing means is adapted to deflect said laser beam and said ultrasound beam transversally so that the laser and ultrasound beams after the deflection substantially coincide at a direction off axis from said catheter to hit said portion of the atheroma. - receive circuits adapted to receive and process the backscattered ultrasound for imaging of the tissue structures - means for analysing said ultrasound image, either manually or automatically, to determine the presence of atheroma so that said image can be used to direct the laser beam towards the regions in the ultrasound image which have been determined to represent a portion of an atheroma and determine the intensity and the dosage of the laser beam for accurate ablation of said portion of the atheroma.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
298 words
An intra-arterial laser angioplasty delivery system comprising: - a combined laser and ultrasound catheter composed of - means for emitting a laser beam in an artery towards an atheroma for ablation of the atheroma - optical fiber means for feeding laser light from a laser to said emitting means, - an ultrasound transducer for intra-arterial imaging of tissue structures like the atheroma, the vessel wall and surrounding tissue, by emitting a pulsed ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged to receive backscattered ultrasound from said tissue structures - beam directing means arranged to direct the ultrasound beam towards said tissue structures and also arranged so that the laser beam can be brought into substantially any of the directions the ultrasound beam can assume for imaging, so that the laser beam can be steered towards a portion of the ultrasound image indicating a portion of an atheroma to ablate said portion of the atheroma - said laser beam emitting means and said ultrasound transducer being directed towards each other, and intermediate beam directing means is adapted to deflect said laser beam and said ultrasound beam transversally so that the laser and ultrasound beams after the deflection substantially coincide at a direction off axis from said catheter to hit said portion of the atheroma. - receive circuits adapted to receive and process the backscattered ultrasound for imaging of the tissue structures - means for analysing said ultrasound image, either manually or automatically, to determine the presence of atheroma so that said image can be used to direct the laser beam towards the regions in the ultrasound image which have been determined to represent a portion of an atheroma and determine the intensity and the dosage of the laser beam for accurate ablation of said portion of the atheroma.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
100 words
System according to claim 5 , comprising ultrasound image display and analysis means which generates input signals to laser controller means which on the basis thereof and combined with the instantaneous direction of the laser beam relative to any portion of an atheroma indicated in the image, provides control signals for controlling the intensity and/or pulse timing of said laser beam so that if the laser beam is directed towards a portion of an atheroma indicated in the image the laser beam is turned on with adequate intensity and/or pulse timing for accurate ablation of said portion of the atheroma.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
System according to claim 6, wherein said laser controller means comprise means for controlling said laser beam directing means to direct the laser beam towards the portions of the atheroma to be ablated.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
System according to claim 7 wherein said laser controller means comprise means for directing said laser beam towards said portion of the atheroma in time intervals during which ultrasound imaging is not done.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
62 words
System according to claim 5, in which the beam directing means is arranged to scan the ultrasound beam so that 2-dimensional ultrasound images of tissue structures like the atheroma, vessel wall, and surrounding tissue can be obtained, and that the beam directing means is arranged so that the laser beam and the ultrasound beam coincide for any setting of the directing means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
82 words
System according to claim 9, in which the ultrasound beam and the laser beam are activated in a time sequence, so that the ultrasound beam is first used to obtain a 2-dimensional ultrasound image, and the laser beam is afterwards steered towards directions in the image showing atheroma and controlled in intensity for limited time pulsing in order to partially ablate the atheroma, and a second ultrasound image is generated after the laser irradiation for observation of the effect of the ablation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
114 words
System according to claim 5, in which the beam directing means is arranged to scan the ultrasound beam so that 2-dimensional ultrasound images of tissue structures like the atheroma, vessel wall, and surrounding tissue can be obtained, and that the beam directing means is arranged so that the directions of the laser beam and the ultrasound beam do not coincide for any setting of the directing means, but can be set so that the laser beam can be directed into substantially any of the directions of the ultrasound beam, so that the laser beam can be steered towards a portion of the ultrasound image indicating an atheroma to hit said portion of the atheroma.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
104 words
System according to claim 11, wherein the ultrasound beam and the laser beam are being swept simultaneously across the same field but with different directions at any specific time, so that the laser beam direction will substantially follow that of the ultrasound beam with a time lag, and the ultrasound beam is updating one portion of the image while the laser beam is directed at another portion of the image ready to do laser ablation while the image is being updated in the other direction, and after a full scan the ultrasound beam and the laser beam directions have swept the whole image field.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
49 words
System according to claim 5, comprising means for ultrasound Doppler measurement of blood velocity in front of the catheter in the artery and combining it with the cross sectional imaging of the artery to obtain volume flow of blood in an artery in which an atheroma is being ablated.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
62 words
System according to claim 6, in which the beam directing means is arranged to scan the ultrasound beam so that 2-dimensional ultrasound images of tissue structures like the atheroma, vessel wall, and surrounding tissue can be obtained, and that the beam directing means is arranged so that the laser beam and the ultrasound beam coincide for any setting of the directing means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
114 words
System according to claim 6, in which the beam directing means is arranged to scan the ultrasound beam so that 2-dimensional ultrasound images of tissue structures like the atheroma, vessel wall, and surrounding tissue can be obtained, and that the beam directing means is arranged to that the directions of the laser beam and the ultrasound beam do not coincide for any setting of the directing means, but can be set so that the laser beam can be directed into substantially any of the directions of the ultrasound beam so that the laser beam can be steered towards a portion of the ultrasound image indicating an atheroma to hit said portion of the atheroma.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.