Catheter System for Treating Calcified Plaque

A method of treating calcified plaque at a treatment site within a body of a subject, the method comprising:

• delivering a catheter body of a catheter system to the treatment site so that a distal end portion of the catheter body is adjacent the calcified plaque;
• propagating a longitudinal pressure wave through the catheter body from a proximal end portion toward a distal end portion of the catheter body;
• and
• delivering the longitudinal pressure wave from the distal end portion of the catheter body to the calcified plaque.

A catheter system for treating calcified plaque within a body of a subject, the catheter system comprising:

• a catheter body having opposite proximal and distal end portion and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween, wherein the catheter body is configured to be percutaneously inserted into the body of the subject and delivered to a treatment site having calcified plaque;
• a treatment member at the distal end portion of the catheter body, the treatment member including a treatment member body and a plurality of fins coupled to the treatment member body, wherein treatment member is selectively configurable between a non-deployed configuration, in which the fins are generally flush with the treatment member body, and a deployed configuration, in which the fins project radially outward from the treatment member body;
• and
• an actuator configured to enable a user to configure the treatment member between the non-deployed and deployed configurations.