Diagnosing and performing interventional procedures on tissue in vivo

A method of diagnosing and performing an interventional procedure on tissue, comprising the steps of:

• inserting an endoscope into a patient's body;
• inserting a catheter into a lumen of the endoscope, the catheter having an elongated shaft defining at least two lumens and including a distal end, a first optical fiber, removably insertable into one of the at least two lumens of the catheter shaft and extendable beyond the distal end of the catheter shaft, for transmitting light to tissue located a the distal end of the catheter, a second optical fiber, removably insertable into one of the at least two lumens of the catheter shaft and extendable beyond the distal end of the catheter shaft, for conveying light back from the tissue for analysis by a spectroscopic diagnosis system, and an interventional device, wherein said first optical fiber and said second optical fiber are discrete fibers, and said interventional device is physically separable from said first and second optical fibers;
• transmitting light through the first optical fiber to tissue located at the distal end of the catheter;
• conveying light back from the tissue through the second optical fiber for analysis by a spectroscopic diagnosis system;
• conveying light back from the tissue through at least one of the first or second optical fibers for visual observation of the tissue;
• diagnosing the tissue with the spectroscopic diagnosis system to determine whether an interventional procedure should be performed on the tissue;
• delivering a rotatable ultrasonic imaging device through a lumen of the endoscope to determine a depth to which an interventional procedure should be performed on the tissue;
• and
• engaging, with the interventional device, the tissue diagnosed by the spectroscopic diagnosis system in order to perform the interventional procedure on the tissue.

An assembly comprising:

• an endoscope;
• an elongated catheter shaft defining at least two lumens and including a distal end, and constructed to be insertable through a working channel of the endoscope;
• a first optical fiber, removably insertable into one of the at least two lumens of the catheter shaft and extendable beyond the distal end of the catheter shaft, for transmitting light to tissue located at the distal end of the catheter shaft;
• a second optical fiber, removably insertable into one of the at least two lumens of the catheter shaft and extendable beyond the distal end of the catheter shaft, for conveying light back from the tissue for analysis by a spectroscopic diagnosis system to determine whether an interventional procedure should be performed on the tissue, wherein said second optical fiber and said first optical fiber are discrete fibers and at least one of the fibers includes a viewing device for converting a second conveyed light back from the tissue into a visual observation image of the tissue;
• an ultrasound transducer that is insertable into a channel of the endoscope to determine a depth for performing an interventional procedure on the tissue;
• and
• an interventional device, constructed to be insertable through a working channel of an endoscope, for engaging tissue diagnosed by the spectroscopic diagnosis system in order to perform the interventional procedure on the tissue, wherein said interventional device is physically separable from said first and second optical fibers.

A method of diagnosing and performing an interventional procedure on tissue, comprising the steps of:

• inserting an endoscope through a lumen of a body of a living being;
• inserting through a working channel of the endoscope a catheter having an elongated shaft defining at least two lumens and including a distal end, a first optical fiber, removably insertable into one of the at least two lumens of the catheter shaft and extendable beyond the distal end of the catheter shaft, for transmitting light to tissue located at the distal end of the catheter, a second optical fiber, removably insertable into one of the at least two lumens of the catheter shaft and extendable beyond the distal end of the catheter shaft, for conveying light back from the tissue for analysis by a spectroscopic diagnosis system wherein said first optical fiber and said second optical fiber are discrete fibers;
• transmitting light through the first optical fiber to tissue located at the distal end of the catheter;
• conveying light back from the tissue through the second optical fiber for analysis by a spectroscopic diagnosis system;
• conveying light back from the tissue through at least one of the optical fibers for visual observation of the tissue;
• diagnosing the tissue with the spectroscopic diagnosis system to determine whether an interventional procedure should be performed on the tissue;
• inserting an ultrasound transducer into the endoscope to determine a depth at which the interventional procedure should be performed;
• and
• engaging, with an interventional device insertable through a working channel of the endoscope, the tissue diagnosed by the spectroscopic diagnosis system in order to perform the interventional procedure on the tissue, wherein said interventional device is physically separable from said first and second optical fibers.