Wireless cylindrical shell passive LC sensor
AssigneeW. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
InventorMinghua Xu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sensor includes two coaxial RF shielding members arranged to create a coaxial RF shielding structure that is electrically open and is formed from partially enclosed cylindrical shells. The RF shielding members are spaced from one another. The sensor also includes one or multiple electrically conductive coaxial coils between the coaxial RF shielding members. This configuration creates an LC circuit without requiring a separate capacitor electrically connected to the inductor. The RF shielding structure minimizes the surrounding tissue effects (e.g., parasitic capacitance), which improves the overall accuracy of the sensor. The LC circuit also can be remotely interrogated by external reader.
Claims48
An apparatus comprising:
- a first coaxial RF shielding member and a second coaxial RF shielding member arranged to form a coaxial RF shielding structure, wherein said first coaxial RF shielding member and said second coaxial RF shielding member are partially enclosed shells with only two opposite opens, said first coaxial RF shielding member and said second coaxial RF shielding member are electrically open, and said first coaxial RF shielding member and said second coaxial RF shielding member are spaced from one another by at least one distance and arranged such that said second coaxial RF shielding member is at least partially inside said first coaxial RF shielding member;
- and
- one or more electrically conductive coaxial coils provided between said first coaxial RF shielding member and said second coaxial RF shielding member.
A method of measuring flow in a graft, comprising:
- imbedding a first passive LC pressure sensor in a middle portion of a narrowed section of said graft, wherein said first passive LC pressure sensor is configured to produce a first signal that is a function of liquid pressure within said graft;
- imbedding a second passive LC pressure sensor at an end of said narrowed section, wherein said second passive LC pressure sensor is configured to produce a second signal that is a function of liquid pressure within said graft;
- and
- collecting and analyzing said first signal and said second signal to determine the flow through said graft.
A method of introducing a passive LC sensor lying on an outer surface of a treatment stent-graft into a vascular lumen, comprising the steps of:
- introducing a self-expanding passive LC sensor in a folded configuration to a selected site in a vascular lumen;
- releasing the self-expanding passive LC sensor to allow the self-expanding passive LC sensor to expand from its folded configuration at the selected site in said vascular lumen;
- passing a self-expanding treatment stent-graft in a folded configuration through the expanded passive LC sensor at the selected site in said vascular lumen;
- adjusting the location of said self-expanding passive LC sensor relative to said self-expanding treatment stent-graft;
- and
- releasing said self-expanding treatment stent-graft to allow the self-expanding treatment stent-graft to expand from its folded configuration at the selected site in said vascular lumen with the self-expanding passive LC sensor laying on an outer surface of said self-expanding treatment stent-graft.
A method of introducing a passive LC sensor lying against an inner surface of a treatment stent-graft into a lumen, comprising the steps of:
- introducing a folded self-expanding stent-graft to a selected site in a vascular lumen;
- expanding the self-expanding stent-graft at the selected site in said vascular lumen;
- introducing a folded self-expanding LC sensor through a lumen of said expanded stent-graft at the selected site in the vascular lumen;
- and
- expanding the self-expanding LC sensor so that it lays against an inner surface of said expanded stent-graft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.