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US6929633B2 Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Apparatus and methods for clot dissolution

Assignee: Covidien LP
•
Filing: 2002-10-21
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Granted: 2005-08-16
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Expires: 2022-10-21
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Abstract

Abstract Clot disruption and dissolution are achieved using a catheter having the ability to infuse a thrombolytic agent, agitate the clot and agent, and aspirate broken-up clot from the blood vessel. A flow resistor in the catheter provides for infusion and/or aspiration to be concentrated primarily at a clot treatment area in a blood vessel while also providing optional infusion and/or aspiration distal to the treatment area. In some embodiments, infusion, aspiration and guidewire passage occur through a common lumen. The thrombolytic agent, such as tPA, streptokinase, or urokinase, is directly released into the clot at the point where the agitator is engaging the clot. In this way, the thrombolytic activity of the agent is enhanced and the dissolution of the clot is improved.

Inventors

  • 👤 Michael A. Evans
  • 👤 Denise Demarais
  • 👤 Dino De Cicco
  • 👤 Kelvin Ning
  • 👤 Alexander Khairkhahan
  • 👤 Tyler Jon Strang
  • 👤 Jody Maria Cimbalo
  • 👤 Stephen Leeflang

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-23 08:20
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B17/00; A61B17/32; A61B17/3205; A61B17/3207; A61B17/320758; A61B17/22; A61M; A61M25/00; A61M25/0021; A61P; A61P9/00; A61B17/22004; A61B2017/00681; A61B2017/00685; A61B2017/22051; A61B2017/22054; A61B2017/22065; A61B2017/22067; A61B2017/22082; A61B2017/22084; A61B2017/320716; A61B2017/320766; A61M25/10; A61M2025/1043; A61M2025/1052; A61M25/0067; A61M25/0068; A61M25/007; A61M25/0074; A61M25/0075; A61M25/01; A61M25/0105; A61M39/00; A61M39/22

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim 87 words
A method for disrupting clot over a luminal length of a blood vessel, said method comprising: positioning a catheter body within the luminal length of the blood vessel; infusing a thrombolytic agent through a lumen of the catheter body into the luminal length of the blood vessel; expanding an agitator within the catheter body to eccentrically deform a portion of the body; and rotating the agitator to sweep the catheter body within the luminal length of the blood vessel to agitate the thrombolytic agent within the clot.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 87 words
A method for disrupting clot over a luminal length of a blood vessel, said method comprising: positioning a catheter body within the luminal length of the blood vessel; infusing a thrombolytic agent through a lumen of the catheter body into the luminal length of the blood vessel; expanding an agitator within the catheter body to eccentrically deform a portion of the body; and rotating the agitator to sweep the catheter body within the luminal length of the blood vessel to agitate the thrombolytic agent within the clot.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 20 words
A method as in claim 1 , wherein positioning the catheter body includes passing the catheter body over a guidewire.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 18 words
A method as in claim 1 , wherein the catheter is rotated at a frequency of 1-20,000 Hertz.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 28 words
A method as in claim 1 , wherein the agitator is resilient and radially self-expanding so that it is constrained by the blood vessel as it is rotated.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 16 words
A method as in claim 4 , wherein the agitator has a non-linear geometry when expanded.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 16 words
A method as in claim 1 , wherein the luminal length is at least 3 cm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 14 words
A method as in claim 1 , wherein the blood vessel is a vein.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 36 words
A method as in claim 7 , wherein the vein is selected from the group consisting of vena cava, iliac vein, femoral vein, popliteal vein, common iliac vein, external iliac vein, brachial vein, and subclavian vein.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 14 words
A method as in claim 1 , wherein the blood vessel is an artery.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 35 words
A method as in claim 9 , wherein the artery is selected from the group consisting of the internal iliac artery, external iliac artery, popliteal artery, coronary arteries, superficial femoral artery, and the brachial artery.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 22 words
A method as in claim 1 , further comprising isolating at least one end of the luminal length of the blood vessel.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 22 words
A method as in claim 11 , further comprising isolating both a proximal end and a distal end of the luminal length.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 16 words
A method as in claim 11 , wherein isolating comprises inflating at least one occlusion balloon.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 21 words
A method as in claim 11 , wherein isolating at least a distal end is performed prior to infusing the agent.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 21 words
A method as in claim 14 , wherein isolating at least one distal end is maintained until after agitating has stopped.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 22 words
A method as in claim 1 , further comprising aspirating disrupted clot material from along the luminal length of the blood vessel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 25 words
A method as in claim 16 , wherein aspirating disrupted clot and infusing the agent are performed through a common lumen in the catheter body.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 2008-08-15 2009-02-14 2009-08-16 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2012-08-15 2013-02-14 2013-08-16 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2016-08-15 2017-02-14 2017-08-16 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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