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AssigneeTexas Heart Institute
InventorsS. Ward Casscells III, James T. Willerson, Morteza Naghavi, Bujin Guo
Estimating the term…
Methods for the detection of inflammation associated with vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque to prevent heart attack and stroke are disclosed. The methods are also applicable to detection of infection, cancer, wounds or auto-immune disease in the body. Certain embodiments of the new methods provide a way of predicting the level of vulnerability of an atherosclerotic plaque to rupture or thrombus formation by assessing via fiber optic NIR spectrophotometry the status of two or more parameters associated with inflamed atherosclerotic plaque in a vessel of a living patient. From these measurements such conditions as low pH, hypoxia, low glucose, oxidative stress or compounds abundant in vulnerable plaque such as oxidized LDL cholesterol and oxidized metabolites of NO, significant active macrophage population, thin plaque cap, as well as senescence and/or apoptosis of smooth muscle or endothelial cells are determined with the assistance of a suitably programmed microprocessor. By considering together the status of some or all of these conditions with respect to successive sites along a vessel wall, particular plaques which are at significant risk of rupturing or thrombosing can be distinguished from “normal” vessel wall and from “intermediate” and relatively stable or “lower risk” plaques. Sites having more of the indicator conditions would be considered most in need of prompt intervention, and certain combinations of parameter levels would be suggestive of relatively stable plaque. Also disclosed is a multi-parameter catheter and analytical processing assembly for use in the methods.
A method of simultaneously measuring in a living vessel at least two chemical parameters associated with inflamed vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque, the method comprising:
The method of claim I wherein said optionally providing a display system capable of receiving and displaying a report from said processor includes providing a monitor capable of displaying a color image of said vessel wall.
A method of detecting an inflamed vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque on a vessel wall comprising:
A multi-parameter catheter comprising:
An improved method of detecting vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque in vivo in which a chemical or biochemical component of a plaque is measured, the improvement comprising measuring at least two analytes associated with activated macrophages, said analytes chosen from the group consisting of pH, oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, nitrosyl hemoglobin, nitrosyl tyrosine, oxidized cytochrome aa3, reduced cytochrome aa3, glucose, lactate, oxidized LDL cholesterol and oxidized collagen.
An improved method of differentiating atherosclerotic plaque at risk of rupturing and occluding from plaque not presently at risk in which optical radiation from a site along a vessel wall is analyzed, the improvement comprising identifying a site on said vessel wall by analyzing for indicia of actively metabolizing cells.
A method of detecting infection, cancer, wound or autoimmune disease comprising detecting inflammation associated with said infection, cancer, wound or autoimmune disease, said detecting comprising measuring at a site in the body at least two parameters chosen from the group consisting of pH, oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, cytochrome oxidase aa3, reduced cytochrome oxidase aa3, nitrosyl hemoglobin, nitrosyl tyrosine, glucose and lactate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.