Sonic element and catheter incorporating same
US6669655B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 19, 2000 |
| Grant date | Dec 30, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 21, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N2007/027
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A catheter carrying a radially-expansible ultrasonic transducer is threaded into the circulatory system and then the transducer is actuated to provide ultrasonic energy in a ring-like zone surrounding a blood vessel. Desirably, the transducer is arranged to focus the ultrasonic energy into a narrow, ring-like focal zone having an extent, in the axial direction along the catheter, less than the axial extent of the transducer. The transducer desirably is expanded after threading so that during application of the ultrasonic energy, the transducer bears on the interior wall of a blood vessel through a balloon covering the transducer. The transducer may include one or more resilient spiral elements carrying a flexible piezoelectric material.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.