Heat sinks for catheters, and systems and methods thereof

A system for modifying intravascular lesions, comprising:

• a catheter assembly including:
• a sonic connector at a proximal end of a core wire, the sonic connector configured to transmit vibrational energy to the proximal end of the core wire, which core wire includes a distal end portion;
• a damping mechanism including a gasket system around a proximal end portion of the core wire in a damping-mechanism bore of the catheter assembly, the damping mechanism configured to damp the vibrational energy;
• and
• a heat sink connected to the damping mechanism;
• and
• an ultrasound-producing mechanism including:
• an ultrasound generator;
• and
• an ultrasound transducer.

A method for making a catheter assembly for modifying intravascular lesions, the method comprising:

• molding a cartridge including a damping-mechanism bore in a first sleeve;
• disposing a second sleeve over the first sleeve to form a heat sink including the first and second sleeves;
• disposing a core wire through a center of the damping-mechanism bore coincident with a rotational axis of the cartridge;
• disposing a plurality of O-rings in the damping-mechanism bore around the core wire;
• and
• fixing a retainer in a proximal end of the damping-mechanism bore to form a damping mechanism around the core wire, wherein fixing the retainer in the proximal end of the damping-mechanism bore generates a compressive force on the core wire sufficient for damping vibrational energy in a proximal-end portion of the core wire.