US20060235286A1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tuned RF energy for selective treatment of atheroma and other target tissues and/or structures
Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed Inc
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Filing: 2006-03-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2026-03-28
Abstract
Abstract A catheter and catheter system can use energy tailored for remodeling and/or removal of target material along a body lumen, often of atherosclerotic material of a blood vessel of a patient. An elongate flexible catheter body with a radially expandable structure may have a plurality of electrodes or other electrosurgical energy delivery surfaces to radially engage atherosclerotic material when the structure expands. An atherosclerotic material detector system may measure and/or characterize the atherosclerotic material and its location, optionally using impedance monitoring.
Inventors
- 👤 Corbett Stone
- 👤 Michael Hoey
- 👤 Tom Steinke
- 👤 Raphael Michel
- 👤 Arthur Blanck
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-22 20:23
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B5/00; A61B5/05; A61B5/053; A61B5/0538; A61B18/00; A61B18/04; A61B18/12; A61B18/14; A61B18/1492; A61B5/02; A61B5/02007; A61B2018/00053; A61B2018/00214; A61B2018/1467
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
73 words
1 . A method for analyzing a vessel wall of a blood vessel, the method comprising: engaging the vessel wall with an electrode of a probe; energizing the electrode with a variable frequency power source; varying a frequency of the power source; and characterizing a target plaque of the vessel wall by monitoring a frequency-dependent characteristic of an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode, and engaged vessel wall.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
73 words
1 . A method for analyzing a vessel wall of a blood vessel, the method comprising: engaging the vessel wall with an electrode of a probe; energizing the electrode with a variable frequency power source; varying a frequency of the power source; and characterizing a target plaque of the vessel wall by monitoring a frequency-dependent characteristic of an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode, and engaged vessel wall.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the engaging of the vessel wall comprises radially expanding the probe within the blood vessel, a plurality of electrodes of the expanded probe defining a circumferentially distributed electrode array within the vessel wall.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the electrodes of the array are supported by associated struts of the probe, and wherein the struts expand resiliently and independently within the blood vessel.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
4 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising selecting an eccentric subset of the array adjacent the target plaque, and remodeling the characterized target plaque by energizing the subset of the electrodes with a remodeling electrical potential.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising measuring the remodeled target plaque by monitoring the characteristic of the electrical circuit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising altering the remodeling of the blood vessel in response to the remodeling measurement.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
60 words
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the characterized target plaque comprises a vulnerable plaque, and wherein the remodeling is halted in response to a change, for at least one frequency, of an impedance magnitude and/or impedance phase angle of the circuit, the change associated with heating of lipids of the vulnerable plaque to 85° C. or more.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
53 words
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target plaque is characterized using a tissue signature profile, within a frequency range, of tissue signature measurements, the tissue signature measurements comprising associated frequencies, impedance phase angles, and impedance magnitudes, and the tissue signature profile comprising a curve of the tissue signature measurements.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
53 words
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the target plaque is characterized by comparing tissue signature measurements obtained from the circuit to at least one other tissue signature measurement or profile and identifying the relationship therebetween as indicating the engaged tissue comprises at least one of healthy tissue or vulnerable plaque.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising characterizing a plurality of localized materials about the blood vessel, and selectively treating different characterized materials with different remodeling treatments using the electrodes.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
45 words
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the target plaque is characterized using at least one of a relative slope between compared tissue signature profiles or an offset between the tissue signature measurement or profile and at least one other tissue signature measurement.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
22 words
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the frequency range extends from below about 50 KHz to over 1 MHz.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
103 words
13 . A system for analyzing a vessel wall of a blood vessel, the system comprising: a vascular probe having a proximal end, a distal end, and an electrode disposed near the distal end for engaging the vessel wall; a variable frequency power source coupled to the electrode such that, when the electrode engages the vessel wall, an electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode, and engaged vessel wall can be defined; a processor coupled with the variable frequency power source, the processor configured to characterize a target plaque of the vessel wall by monitoring a frequency-dependent characteristic of the electrical circuit.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
103 words
13 . A system for analyzing a vessel wall of a blood vessel, the system comprising: a vascular probe having a proximal end, a distal end, and an electrode disposed near the distal end for engaging the vessel wall; a variable frequency power source coupled to the electrode such that, when the electrode engages the vessel wall, an electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode, and engaged vessel wall can be defined; a processor coupled with the variable frequency power source, the processor configured to characterize a target plaque of the vessel wall by monitoring a frequency-dependent characteristic of the electrical circuit.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
46 words
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the probe comprises an elongate body extending distally to a support structure, the support structure radially expandable within the blood vessel, and a plurality of electrodes distributed circumferentially about the support structure to define an electrode array.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
35 words
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the electrodes of the array are supported by associated struts of the support structure, and wherein the struts expand resiliently and independently within the blood vessel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to selectively energize an eccentric subset of the array adjacent the target plaque with a remodeling electrical energy.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
39 words
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to generate feedback on the remodeled target plaque by monitoring the characteristic of the electrical circuit after applying at least a portion of the remodeling energy.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the processor, in response to feedback signals generated by monitoring the characteristic, alters the remodeling of the blood vessel.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
64 words
19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the characterized target plaque comprises a vulnerable plaque, and wherein the processor is configured to halt the remodeling energy in response to a change, in at least one frequency range, in impedance magnitude and/or phase angle of the circuit, the change associated with heating of lipids of the vulnerable plaque to 85° C. or more.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
37 words
20 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to characterize the target plaque using a tissue signature profile curve, within a frequency range, of impedance magnitude and phase angles of the circuit.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
45 words
21 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the processor is configured to characterize the target plaque by comparing the tissue signature profile curve to at least one other tissue signature profile curve so as identify at least one of healthy tissue or plaque.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
22 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the processor is configured to localize and characterize a plurality of materials about the blood vessel, and to selectively treat different characterized materials by applying different remodeling treatments to the electrodes.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
39 words
23 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the processor is configured to characterize the target plaque using at least one of a relative slope of the tissue signature profiles and an offset between the tissue signature profiles.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
17 words
24 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the frequency range extends below about 50 KHz.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
105 words
25 . A system for analyzing a lumen wall of a body lumen, the system comprising: a probe having a proximal end, a distal end, and a radially expandable electrode array disposed near the distal end for circumferentially engaging the lumen wall; a power source coupled to the electrode such that, when the electrode engages the vessel wall, an electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode, and engaged vessel wall can be defined; and a processor coupled with the variable frequency power source, the processor configured to characterize an eccentric target material of the lumen wall by monitoring a characteristic of the electrical circuit.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
105 words
25 . A system for analyzing a lumen wall of a body lumen, the system comprising: a probe having a proximal end, a distal end, and a radially expandable electrode array disposed near the distal end for circumferentially engaging the lumen wall; a power source coupled to the electrode such that, when the electrode engages the vessel wall, an electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode, and engaged vessel wall can be defined; and a processor coupled with the variable frequency power source, the processor configured to characterize an eccentric target material of the lumen wall by monitoring a characteristic of the electrical circuit.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
97 words
26 . A catheter system for remodeling and/or reduction of a target material of or adjacent to a body lumen of a patient; the system comprising: an elongate flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end with an axis therebetween; at least one energy delivery surface disposed near the distal end of the catheter body; and a power source is electrically coupled to the energy delivery surface(s), the power source configured to energize the energy delivery surface(s) with an electrical energy form that helps the energy heat the material and inhibits collateral tissue damage.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
97 words
26 . A catheter system for remodeling and/or reduction of a target material of or adjacent to a body lumen of a patient; the system comprising: an elongate flexible catheter body having a proximal end and a distal end with an axis therebetween; at least one energy delivery surface disposed near the distal end of the catheter body; and a power source is electrically coupled to the energy delivery surface(s), the power source configured to energize the energy delivery surface(s) with an electrical energy form that helps the energy heat the material and inhibits collateral tissue damage.
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