US 10,932,670 B2Granted

Optical pressure sensor assembly

AssigneeAvinger, Inc.

InventorsPeter H. Smith, Manish Kankaria

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Abstract

Optical pressure sensor assemblies that can be used with existing catheters and imaging systems. Pressure sensors may be compatible with atherectomy and occlusion-crossing catheters, where intravascular pressure measurements at various vessel locations are needed to determine treatment efficacy. The pressure sensors may employ an optical pressure measurement mechanism using optical interferometry, and may be integrated with existing imaging modalities such as OCT. The pressure sensor assemblies may include a movable membrane that deflects in response to intravascular pressure; an optical fiber that transmits light to the movable membrane and receives light reflected or scattered back from the movable membrane into the fiber; and a processor or controller configured to determine the distance traveled by the light received in the fiber from the movable membrane, where the distance traveled is proportional to the intravascular pressure exerted against the membrane.

Claims24

Dependent claims

An imaging and optical pressure sensor assembly, comprising:

an optical fiber configured for optical communication with a light source;
a housing comprising a lumen through which the optical fiber extends;
and
an elastic membrane positioned across an opening in a sidewall of the housing and attached to the housing at both sides of the opening, the elastic membrane configured to be movable relative to the housing in response to a pressure outside of the housing, the elastic membrane further configured to reflect or scatter light from the optical fiber;
wherein a distal end of the optical fiber is configured to transmit light from the light source to the elastic membrane and to receive the light reflected or scattered by the elastic membrane and wherein the optical fiber is configured to rotate and the distal end of the optical fiber is configured to transmit light from the light source through the opening to tissue and to receive light reflected or scattered by the tissue as the optical fiber rotates;
an interface medium at the distal end of the optical fiber, the interface medium configured to produce a reference reflection when the light is transmitted from the light source through the optical fiber to the elastic membrane or the tissue;
and
a controller configured to:
determine the pressure outside of the housing based upon the light reflected or scattered by the elastic membrane and the reference reflection;
and
generate an image of the tissue based upon the light reflected or scatted by the tissue and the reference reflection.

8 more elements

A method of imaging and determining pressure in a blood vessel comprising:

transmitting light from a light source through an optical fiber in a housing through an interface medium to a surface of an elastic membrane, wherein the elastic membrane is attached to the housing and positioned across an opening in a sidewall of the housing, the elastic membrane moveable in response to pressure exerted against the elastic membrane;
transmitting reflected or scattered light from the elastic membrane and the interface medium back through the optical fiber;
generating an intravascular pressure measurement based upon the light transmitted backthrough the optical fiber from the elastic membrane and the interface medium;
rotating the optical fiber;
transmitting light from the light source through the optical fiber to tissue of the blood vessel through the interface medium and the opening as the optical fiber rotates;
transmitting reflected or scattered light from the tissue and the interface medium backth rough the optical fiber as the optical fiber rotates;
and
generating optical coherence tomography images of the blood vessel I based upon the light transmitted back through the optical fiber from the tissue and the interface medium.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.