Back to results
US 6,106,515 AGranted
Expandable laser catheter
AssigneeIntraluminal Therapeutics, Inc.
InventorsThomas R. Winston, John M. Neet
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeIntraluminal Therapeutics, Inc.
InventorsThomas R. Winston, John M. Neet
Estimating the term…
Expandable laser catheters for utilizing laser energy to remove obstructions from body passages are described. In one embodiment, the laser catheter includes a shaftway having a distal end including a flexible portion configured in a series of radial folds. Multiple optical fibers, configured to transmit laser energy, extend along the shaftway and are attached to the flexible portion. An inflatable, ring-shaped balloon is attached to the catheter within the flexible portion. In use, the catheter is inserted into a body passage such as an artery, and advanced until the distal end is adjacent to an obstruction. The balloon is inflated to expand the flexible portion and to bring the optical fibers nearer the inner wall of the body passage. Laser energy is directed by the optical fibers toward targeted regions of the obstruction. As the catheter is advanced and the process repeated, a core is formed from the obstruction and contained within the flexible portion. The flexible portion is then contracted to hold the core, and the core is removed from the body passage by withdrawing the catheter.
A laser catheter for removing a core of an obstruction from a body passage, said catheter comprising:
A laser catheter for removing a core of an obstruction from a body passage, said catheter comprising:
A method of removing an obstruction from a body passage with a laser catheter, the catheter connected to a laser providing laser energy, wherein the catheter comprises a shaftway having a proximal end and a distal end comprising a flexible portion, the flexible portion configured in a plurality of folds, a plurality of optical fibers extending along the shaftway from the proximal end to the distal end, the optical fibers retained in the folds of the flexible portion, and a means for expanding the flexible portion, the means configured to expand the folds of the flexible portion, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.