Therectomy device having a light weight drive shaft and an imaging device

Abstract

Abstract An atherectomy device having the ability to create variably sized lumens in a vessel. An ablation burr rotated by a drive shaft is routed through a control shaft having a bend in its distal end. The control shaft is in turn routed through a surrounding guide catheter. By extending or retracting the bend of the control shaft into the distal end of the guide catheter, the lateral displacement of the ablation burr is varied. A lumen in a vessel is created by rotating the control shaft within the surrounding guide catheter. In addition, the atherectomy device may include an integrated imaging sensor contained within a separate lumen of the catheter surrounding the drive shaft. The imaging sensor provides images of the interior of the vessel wall to determine if an occlusion has been removed by operation of the ablation burr. The catheter may include a self-expanding stent at its distal end to force the ablation burr against a vessel wall in order to create various sized lumens in a patient's vasculature. Finally, the drive shaft that rotates the ablation burr is made of a lightweight polymeric material such as a liquid crystal polymer having fibers that are braided to provide desired torque and flexibility characteristics of the drive shaft.

Inventors

• 👤 Mark Plaia
• 👤 Robert L. Barry
• 👤 Daniel M. Lafontaine

Bibliographic Details