Through-wall catheter steering and positioning
US5906579A · kind A · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 14, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 25, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 14, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61M25/0125
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method of positioning a catheter, for example a balloon or treatment catheter. The catheter is inserted in a passage and sensed through the luminal wall to correctly determine its position. As applied to prevent hemorrhage during surgery the method involves inserting the catheter in a deflated configuration along a passage such as a blood vessel near to the operative site in a position determined by direct or video-assisted sensing from outside the passage. In the event a blood vessel is cut during surgery, the already-positioned catheter inflates a balloon to occlude the passage and stop blood flow into the injured site. In one aspect, a flow-directed catheter includes an inflatable balloon attached at its distal end and an optical fiber connected to one or more light emitting regions positioned at the tip or in the vicinity of the balloon. The light is divergent and is emitted at one or more points to provide beacons that are readily detected through the walls of a blood vessel and permit a direct determination of the exact location of the balloon within the vessel. Rather than a flow-directed balloon catheter, a drug-delivery or other catheter may be used. In that case the lig…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.