Myocardial revascularization-optical reflectance catheter and method

Abstract

A myocardial revascularization device comprises a tissue-ablating laser optical fiber and a reflectance fiber within a catheter and coupled, respectively, to a laser-energy source and an optical reflectance system. The device is operative to gauge tissue ablation by means of time-domain or optical coherence reflectance, transmitting through the fiber a signal comprising either short optical pulses or low-coherence light. A method of measuring a thickness of a candidate tissue during a myocardial revascularization procedure comprises positioning a catheter adjacent the tissue; ablating tissue; and measuring the thickness of the tissue using either time-domain or optical coherence interferometry. By selecting a target tissue thickness and comparing the measured thickness to the target tissue thickness, the method can warn an operator or disable the tissue-ablating means of the catheter.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.