Wire for an endovascular apparatus
AssigneeVersono Medical Limited
InventorsFinbar Dolan, Hugh O'Donoghue, Ivan Mooney, Pat Connolly, Jim Smedley, Brian Tarpey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An elongate endovascular element for crossing through an obstruction in a blood vessel comprises: a proximal section; a distal tip section of smaller diameter than the proximal section; and a distally-tapering intermediate section extending between the proximal and distal tip sections; wherein the tapered intermediate section has a length that is substantially λ/2 or a multiple of λ/2, where λ is a wavelength of a driving frequency that will produce longitudinal resonance in the element.
Claims18
A method of crossing through a lesion in a blood vessel by ultrasonically exciting a wire serving as an elongate waveguide element, the method comprising:
- inserting a distal section of the wire into a patient's vasculature, wherein the distal section extends proximally from a distal tip of the wire;
- coupling an ultrasonic transducer to the wire at a location selected from a plurality of locations along the wire, at any of which locations the ultrasonic transducer may be coupled to the wire to encourage activation of the distal section of the wire;
- bringing the distal section of the wire to a location of the lesion;
- inputting ultrasonic energy into a proximal section of the wire from the ultrasonic transducer, the ultrasonic transducer operating at a driving frequency that excites longitudinal resonance in the wire and generates longitudinal vibrations in the distal section, and that corresponds to a wavelength A;
- amplifying the ultrasonic energy between the proximal section and the distal section by conveying the ultrasonic energy along a distally-tapering intermediate section of the wire that extends between the proximal section and the distal section;
- and
- generating lateral vibrations in the distal section over a range of frequencies in addition to the longitudinal vibrations, the lateral vibrations including sub-harmonic vibrations at frequencies of 1/2, 1/4 . . . 1/N of the driving frequency, causing the distal section to move in a primary longitudinal mode and in a secondary radial mode to excavate a lumen through the lesion around the distal section, the lumen having a diameter greater than a diameter of the distal section.
A method of crossing through a lesion in a blood vessel by ultrasonically exciting a distal tip section of a waveguide element, the method comprising:
- inserting the waveguide element into a patient's vasculature;
- bringing the distal tip section to a location of the lesion;
- coupling the waveguide element to an ultrasonic activation unit at one of a selected longitudinal location of a plurality of longitudinal locations along the waveguide element;
- uncoupling the waveguide element from and recoupling the waveguide element to the ultrasonic activation unit at another of the plurality of longitudinal locations along the waveguide element;
- and, at each of the longitudinal locations,
- inputting ultrasonic energy into a proximal section of the waveguide element at a driving frequency that excites longitudinal resonance in the wavelength element;
- and
- generating lateral sub-harmonic vibrations in the distal tip section in addition to longitudinal vibrations.
A method of crossing through a lesion in a blood vessel by ultrasonically exciting a distal tip section of a wire, the method comprising:
- inserting the wire into a patient's vasculature;
- bringing the distal tip section to a location of the lesion;
- coupling a source of ultrasonic energy to a proximal section of the wire at a selected longitudinal location along the wire, that location corresponding to one of a plurality of markings on the wire that encourages activation of the distal tip section;
- inputting ultrasonic energy into the proximal section of the wire at a driving frequency that excites longitudinal resonance in the wire;
- generating lateral sub-harmonic vibrations in the distal tip section in addition to longitudinal vibrations;
- crossing through the lesion with the wire;
- and
- delivering therapeutic devices to treat the lesion over the wire.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.