Tissue visualization and manipulation systems
AssigneeVoyage Medical, Inc.
InventorVahid Saadat
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Tissue visualization and manipulation systems are described herein. Such a system may include a deployment catheter and an attached imaging hood deployable into an expanded configuration. In use, the imaging hood is placed against or adjacent to a region of tissue to be imaged in a body lumen that is normally filled with an opaque bodily fluid such as blood. A translucent or transparent fluid, such as saline, can be pumped into the imaging hood until the fluid displaces any blood, thereby leaving a clear region of tissue to be imaged via an imaging element in the deployment catheter. Additionally, any number of therapeutic tools can also be passed through the deployment catheter and into the imaging hood for treating the tissue region of interest.
Claims21
A method for imaging an immersed region of tissue, comprising:
- translating a hood projecting distally from a deployment catheter relative to a sheath such that the hood reconfigures from a constrained state within the sheath to an unconstrained state external to the sheath;
- positioning an opening defined by the hood against or adjacent to the region of tissue to be imaged;
- urging a translucent fluid into the hood via the deployment catheter such that an opaque fluid is displaced from within the hood and is purged through the opening to an environment external to the hood while the opening is maintained against the region of tissue;
- and
- visualizing the region of tissue through the translucent fluid via a visualization element positioned on the hood within or adjacent to an open area defined by the hood such that the element is in fluid communication through the opening with the environment, where the visualization element is moved out of alignment with the deployment catheter when in the constrained state to an off-axis position relative to a longitudinal axis of the deployment catheter when in the unconstrained state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.