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US 7,008,411 B1Granted
Method and apparatus for treating vulnerable plaque
AssigneeAdvanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
InventorsEvgenia Mandrusov, Deborah Kilpatrick, Murthy Simhambhatla, Syed Hossainy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method to treat vulnerable plaque. In one embodiment, the apparatus has an elongated catheter body adapted for insertion in a body lumen, with a drug delivery device attached near a distal portion of the elongated body. The drug delivery device is configured to deliver a biologically active agent to stabilize a vulnerable plaque.
Claims7
A method for stabilizing a vulnerable plaque in a lumen wall, comprising:
- detecting said vulnerable plaque having a lipid core surrounded by a fibrous cap;
- advancing a needle catheter near said vulnerable plaque;
- and
- delivering a vulnerable plaque stabilizing agent with said needle catheter to said fibrous cap without penetrating said lipid core.
1 more element
An apparatus for stabilizing a vulnerable plaque in a lumen wall, comprising:
- means for detecting the vulnerable plaque having a lipid core surrounded by a fibrous cap;
- means for advancing a needle catheter near the vulnerable plaque;
- and
- means for delivering a vulnerable plaque stabilizing agent with said needle catheter to the fibrous cap without penetrating said lipid core, wherein said vulnerable plaque stabilizing agent increases a thickness of the fibrous cap.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.