Abbott Laboratories Corporation

Scott T Tsuchitani

Jeffrey A Sarge

John M Sperinde

Anthony J Pantages

Timothy J Hughes

Darrell H Ogi

Gerald G Vurek

Harlow B Christianson

David A Gallup

William A Ambrisco

Apparatus and a method for monitoring a percentage of the oxygen saturation in the hemoglobin of blood flowing through a blood vessel. An optical sensor that detects the percentage oxygen saturation in blood is disposed proximate a proximal end of the catheter. A thermistor is disposed adjacent to the distal end of the catheter and it is employed to detect changes in blood temperature that indicate the position of the catheter's distal end in the blood vessel. Indicia or marks visible at intervals on the outer surface of the catheter enable a medical practitioner to determine the length of the catheter that has been introduced into the blood vessel. A strain relief that is flexible and resists stretching extends along the length of the catheter. For flushing the distal end of the catheter, a fluid supply may be connected to a lumen running through the catheter to provide the flushing fluid. A removable guide wire is inserted in the lumen when positioning the distal end of the catheter at a location in the blood vessel and provides enhanced rigidity for this purpose. The catheter may be coated with an anticoagulant such as heparin, to prevent blood from coagulating on the exterior surface of the catheter.

Intravascular oximetry catheter

A multi-lumen, multi-purpose cardiac catheter which incorporates optical filaments and an optical coupler for use with external apparatus for determining the oxygen concentration in the blood of a patient under critical care conditions, as well as incorporating therein a thermal element useable with a second external apparatus for measurement of continuous cardiac output. The thermal element is disposed at a necked down portion of the catheter at the distal end thereof, with at least one of the lumens of the catheter substantially compressed at the necked down portion thereof. The catheter also includes a thermistor and at least one injectate port for enabling the user to also conduct thermal dilution readings and obtain intermittent measurements of cardiac output. The combination of a thermal dilution catheter with a SVO.sub.2 catheter and a continuous cardiac output catheter gives the multi-purpose catheter above described substantial versatility as well as providing the user with a versatile cardiac catheter device which enables him to conduct multiple evaluations of disparate blood-related parameters which require the use of separate apparatus. Simply by switching from one external apparatus to the other, the user can obtain readings for different blood-related parameters useful in the treatment of the cardiac patient.

Multi-purpose multi-parameter cardiac catheter

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Scott T Tsuchitani