Ultrasound renal nerve ablation and imaging catheter with dual-function transducers
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorsMARK L. JENSON, ROGER N. HASTINGS, SCOTT R. SMITH
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Abstract
Systems for nerve and tissue modulation are disclosed. An example system may include an intravascular nerve modulation system including an elongated shaft having a proximal end region and a distal end region. The system may further include one or more dual-function ultrasound transducers for performing imaging and tissue modulation.
Claims20
An intravascular nerve modulation system comprising:
- an elongate shaft having a proximal end region and a distal end region;
- a first transducer array having one or more transducers disposed adjacent to the distal end region of the elongate shaft;
- and
- a second transducer array having one or more transducers disposed adjacent to the distal end region of the elongate shaft;
- wherein at least one of the first or second transducer arrays is configured to both send ultrasonic pulses and receive reflected pulses.
An intravascular nerve modulation system, comprising:
- an elongate shaft having a distal end region;
- a first transducer array including a plurality of transducers disposed along the distal end region;
- a second transducer array including a plurality of transducers disposed along the distal end region;
- wherein the first transducer array is configured to both send ultrasonic pulses and receive reflected pulses;
- and
- wherein the second transducer array is configured to send ultrasonic pulses.
The intravascular nerve modulation system of claim 19, wherein the transducers of the first transducer array alternate with the transducers of the second transducer array along the distal end region of the elongate shaft.
A method for performing intravascular nerve modulation, the method comprising:
- providing a nerve modulation system comprising:
- an elongate shaft having a proximal end region and a distal end region;
- a first transducer array having one or more transducers disposed adjacent to the distal end region of the elongate shaft;
- and
- a second transducer array having one or more transducers disposed adjacent to the distal end region of the elongate shaft;
- advancing the nerve modulation system through a lumen such that the distal end region of the elongate shaft is adjacent to a first target region;
- supplying a first current to one of the first or second transducer arrays to generate a first acoustic energy;
- receiving reflected pulses from the first acoustic energy at one of the first or second transducer arrays to image the first target region;
- and
- supplying a second current to both the first and the second transducer arrays to generate a second acoustic energy different from the first acoustic energy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.