# US 11,298,489 B2 · Methods and devices for passive residual lung volume reduction and functional lung volume expansion

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- Number: US 11,298,489 B2
- Document ID: US11298489B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/428,544
- Filed: 2019-05-31
- Published: 2020-02-06
- Granted: 2022-04-12
- Earliest claimed: 2008-03-12
- Assignees: Pulmonx Corporation
- Applicants: Pulmonx Corporation
- Inventors: Nikolai Aljuri; Rodney C. Perkins; Ryan Olivera; Hoang Nguyen; Srikanth Radhakrishnan; Niyazi Beyhan
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11298489B2

## CPC

- A61M 16/0434: {Cuffs}
- A61B 1/2676: {Bronchoscopes}
- A61B 5/0084: {for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters (A61B5/1459 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/08: Measuring devices for evaluating the respiratory organs
- A61B 5/4836: {Diagnosis combined with treatment in closed-loop systems or methods (A61B5/0036 takes precedence)}
- A61B 17/12104: {in an air passage}
- A61B 17/12136: {Balloons}
- A61M 16/0003: {Accessories therefor, e.g. sensors, vibrators, negative pressure}
- A61M 16/208: {Non-controlled one-way valves, e.g. exhalation, check, pop-off non-rebreathing valves}
- A61F 2002/043: {Bronchi}
- A61M 16/0436: {Special fillings therefor}
- A61M 25/10: Balloon catheters ({A61M25/0125 takes precedence; embolectomy A61B17/22032; retractors A61B17/02;} inflatable balloons for placing stents or stent-grafts A61F2/958 {; stomach balloons for treatment of obesity A61F5/0003; oesophagal tubes A61J15/00})
- A61M 2016/0027: {pressure meter}
- A61M 2016/003: {with a flowmeter}
- A61M 2025/1052: {for temporarily occluding a vessel for isolating a sector}
- A61M 2202/0208: Oxygen
- A61M 2205/3334: Measuring or controlling the flow rate
- A61M 2207/10: Device therefor
- Y10T 29/49826: Assembling or joining
- A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)}
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- A61F: FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS (dental prosthetics A61C)
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

The volume of a hyperinflated lung compartment is reduced by sealing a distal end of the catheter in an airway feeding the lung compartment. Air passes out of the lung compartment through a passage in the catheter while the patient exhales. A one-way flow element associated with the catheter prevents air from re-entering the lung compartment as the patient inhales. Over time, the pressure of regions surrounding the lung compartment cause it to collapse as the volume of air diminishes. Residual volume reduction effectively results in functional lung volume expansion. Optionally, the lung compartment may be sealed in order to permanently prevent air from re-entering the lung compartment. The invention further discloses a catheter with a transparent occlusion element at its tip that enables examination of the lung passageway through a viewing scope.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A diagnostic catheter comprising:
a catheter body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a lumen extending from the distal end to the proximal end, wherein at least a distal portion of the catheter body is adapted to be advanced through the airways of the lung; and
a transparent expandable member disposed near the distal end of the catheter body, wherein the transparent expandable member is adapted to be expanded in an airway leading to a lung compartment, wherein a proximal end of the transparent expandable member is attached to an outer surface of the catheter body and a distal portion of the transparent expandable member is attached to an inner surface of the lumen such that the transparent expandable member forms the wide angle lens.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The diagnostic catheter of claim 1, wherein the proximal end of the transparent expandable member is attached circumferentially to the outer surface of the catheter body and the distal portion of the transparent expandable member is attached circumferentially to the inner surface of the lumen.