Segmented MRI catheters and other interventional devices

US10835710B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services · US

Inventors

• Robert J. Lederman · Bethesda, US
• Ozgur Kocaturk · Rockville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 14, 2016
• Grant date: Nov 17, 2020
• Expiry date: Sep 8, 2037

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R33/285
• WIPO field: Medical technology
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Disclosed herein are segmented MRI-compatible interventional devices, such as catheters and guidewires, that provide desired mechanical properties while avoiding undesired interactions with MRI fields. Disclosed devices can include helical wires with insulated breaks at intervals along each wire so that the insulated wire segments are individually short enough to avoid substantial resonance and heat being generated in the wires due to an applied MRI field. The segmented wires can be organized into a braided/woven tubular configuration or a non-braided intercalated/parallel tubular configuration that provides the desired mechanical properties similar to conventional metallic braided catheters. The helical wire segments can be insulated such that the wires do not touch each other at points where they cross over each other. Breaks in the wires can be staggered along the longitudinal axis of the device and/or circumferentially around the device to minimize formation of weak areas where wire breaks are aligned or grouped.