Heart-synchronized pulsed laser system
AssigneeLaser Engineering, Inc.
InventorsRobert I. Rudko, Stephen J. Linhares
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heart-synchronized pulsed laser system includes a laser; a device for sensing the contraction and expansion of a beating heart to be synchronized with the laser; a device, responsive to the device for sensing, for generating a trigger pulse; a control for positioning the leading edge of the trigger pulse during the contraction and expansion cycle of the heartbeat; a control for defining the width of the trigger pulse to occur during the heartbeat cycle; and a circuit responsive to the trigger pulse for firing the laser to strike the beating heart at the time indicated by the trigger pulse position and for the period indicated by the width of the trigger pulse.
Claims17
A heart-synchronized pulsed laser system for performing transmyocardial revascularization on a beating heart comprising:
- a laser;
- means for sensing a contraction and expansion of a beating heart to be synchronized with the laser;
- means, responsive to said means for sensing, for generating a trigger pulse having a width and a leading edge;
- means for positioning the leading edge of said trigger pulse only at a time during the contraction and expansion cycle of the heartbeat which would not cause fibrillation of the heart;
- means for defining the width of the trigger pulse to occur during the heartbeat cycle;
- and
- means, responsive to said trigger pulse, for firing said laser to strike the beating heart at the time indicated by the trigger pulse position and for a period indicated by the width of the trigger pulse.
A heart-synchronized pulsed laser method for performing transmyocardial revascularization on a beating heart, comprising:
- generating a trigger pulse in response to an ECG signal of a beating heart to be synchronized with a laser, said trigger pulse having a width and a leading edge;
- positioning the leading edge of the trigger pulse only at a time during the ECG heartbeat cycle which would not cause fibrillation of the heart;
- defining the width of the trigger pulse to occur within the duration of the heartbeat cycle of the ECG signal;
- and
- applying the trigger pulse to fire the laser and to strike the beating heart at the time indicated by the trigger pulse position and for a period indicated by the width of the trigger pulse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.