Micromotor and optical arrangement for fast circular scanning of light beams in small diameter flexible catheters
AssigneeThe General Hospital Corporation
InventorsGinger Schmidt, Brett E. Bouma, Milen Shishkov, Néstor Uribe-Patarroyo
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Abstract
The disclosure presents a shaftless, brushless motor for rotating any optical or sensing element (e.g., a lens or mirror) at a distal end of a waveguide that also delivers electromagnetic radiation (e.g., light). Herein, the waveguide itself functions as the axle on which rotating components rotate, thereby avoiding blind spots and overcoming limitations in existing “micromotors”. The shaftless, distally driven motor significantly reduces motor size, while extremely small inertial loads and bearing sizes allow for high pitch cylindrical scanning with longitudinal velocity uniformity.
Claims52
An imaging system, comprising:
- a power source;
- a catheter having a proximal end and a distal end and defining a lumen therebetween;
- and
- an imaging assembly including a proximal portion and a distal portion disposed within the lumen adjacent to the distal end of the catheter, the imaging assembly comprising:
- a waveguide centered in the imaging assembly and extending a length of the catheter,
- at least one permanent magnet positioned in the proximal portion of the imaging assembly and disposed radially around the waveguide,
- an optical element coupled to an outer surface of the at least one permanent magnet, the optical element being disposed beyond the distal portion of the imaging assembly and into the distal end of the catheter, and
- one or more electromagnetic coils positioned in the proximal portion of the imaging assembly radially outward from the at least one permanent magnet and in electrical communication with the power source.
An imaging assembly including a proximal portion and a distal portion disposed within a distal end of a catheter, the imaging assembly further comprising:
- a waveguide centered in the imaging assembly and extending a length of the catheter,
- at least one permanent magnet positioned in the proximal portion of the imaging assembly and disposed radially around the waveguide,
- an optical element coupled to an outer surface of the at least one permanent magnet, the optical element being disposed beyond the distal portion of the imaging assembly and into the distal end of the catheter, and
- one or more electromagnetic coils positioned in the proximal portion of the imaging assembly radially outward from the at least one permanent magnet.
An imaging method, comprising:
- providing an imaging system comprising:
- a power source;
- a catheter having a proximal end and a distal end and defining a lumen therebetween;
- and
- an imaging assembly having a proximal portion and a distal portion disposed within the lumen adjacent to the distal end of the catheter, the imaging assembly comprising:
- a waveguide centered in the imaging assembly and extending a length of the catheter,
- at least one permanent magnet positioned in the proximal portion of the imaging assembly and disposed radially around the waveguide,
- an optical element coupled to an outer surface of the at least one permanent magnet, the optical element being disposed beyond the distal portion of the imaging assembly and into the distal end of the catheter, and
- one or more electromagnetic coils positioned in the proximal portion of the imaging assembly radially outward from the at least one permanent magnet, and in electrical communication with the power source:
- providing a current to the one or more electromagnetic coils to generate a magnetic field;
- transmitting one or more beams of light through the waveguide toward the optical element;
- receiving one or more reflected beams of light from the optical element;
- and
- generating an image from the one or more reflected beams using a processor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.