Sensor guide wire with shape memory tip
AssigneeSt. Jude Medical Systems AB
InventorsSathees RANGANATHAN, Anna NORLIN-WEISSENRIEDER, Rolf HILL
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Abstract
A sensor guide wire for intravascular measurements of at least one physiological or other variable in a living body, comprising a proximal region, a distal sensor region, and a tip region, and at least one sensor element arranged in said sensor region and configured to measure the variable and to generate a sensor signal in response to the variable. The sensor guide wire further comprises a core wire, with a tip core wire portion, wherein at least part of the tip core wire portion comprises a shape memory material, and the composition of the shape memory material is such that the transformation temperature of the shape memory material is above the body temperature of the living body.
Claims20
A sensor guide wire for intravascular measurement of at least one physiological or other variable in a living body, comprising:
- a proximal region, a distal sensor region, and a tip region;
- at least one sensor element arranged in the sensor region, and comprising a sensor portion, configured to measure the variable and generate a sensor signal in response to the variable;
- a core wire, comprising a tip core wire portion extending at least partially along the tip region of the sensor guide wire and having a length;
- wherein at least part of said tip core wire portion comprises a shape memory material having a transformation temperature;
- and
- wherein the composition of the shape memory material is such that the transformation temperature of the shape memory material is above the body temperature of the living body.
A method of shaping and reshaping a tip region of a sensor guide wire for intravascular measurement of at least one physiological or other variable in a living body, comprising:
- shaping the tip region manually by hand or with a suitable tool, wherein the tip region has an initial shape prior to the shaping, and wherein the tip region includes a tip core wire portion comprising at least partly a shape memory material, the shape memory material having a transformation temperature above body temperature of the living body;
- and
- heating the tip region to above said transformation temperature, causing the tip region to revert to the initial shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.