Neocardia, LLC

Other

Wayne W Snyder

Anthony J Bradshaw

Richard T Thornton

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for treating a stenosed region of a blood vessel such as a coronary artery by use of a single catheter for balloon angioplasty followed by delivery of a controlled inherently uniform dosage of radiation to the blood vessel wall to deter restenosis at the angioplasty site. In one embodiment, an angioplasty balloon catheter is adapted to have its balloon emptied after the angioplasty and then re-filled with radioactive fluid to re-engage the blood vessel wall at the angioplasty site. Another embodiment has a conventional angioplasty balloon surrounded by a radiotherapy treatment balloon that is separately inflatable with radioactive fluid. Partly filling the angioplasty balloon during the radiation treatment minimizes the volume of radioactive fluid necessary to achieve the desired dosage. In either embodiment, an outer containment balloon may be used to capture radioactive fluid that would otherwise escape if the treatment balloon were to rupture.

Combined angioplasty and intravascular radiotherapy method and apparatus

Apparatus and methods are provided for relieving a stenosed region of a blood vessel such as a coronary artery using a single catheter that relieves the angioplasty by conventional means and then delivers an easily controllable inherently uniform dosage of radiation to the walls of a blood vessel for preventing restenosis after angioplasty. An embodiment of the apparatus comprises a catheter having an angioplasty balloon that is inflatable with a liquid containing a suspended radioactive material such as .sup.125 I or .sup.32 P. The balloon is surrounded by a membrane to capture the radioactive liquid in the event the balloon ruptures. The catheter is advanced through the patient until the balloon is disposed in the stenosed region of the blood vessel. The stenosed region is relieved using the angioplasty balloon, after which the angioplasty balloon is emptied and re-filled with the radioactive liquid, which expands the balloon to engage the walls of the blood vessel thereby providing an inherently uniform dosage of radiation to the blood vessel walls. Another embodiment of the apparatus comprises a catheter having an angioplasty balloon surrounded by a radiotherapy treatment balloon that is separately inflatable with a radioactive liquid. The stenosed region is relieved using the inner angioplasty balloon after which the radiotherapy treatment balloon is filled with the radioactive liquid. An additional containment balloon outside the radiotherapy treatment balloon may also be provided to prevent loss of radioactive liquid in the event the treatment balloon ruptures. The angioplasty balloon may be partly filled during the radiation treatment to minimize the volume of radioactive liquid necessary to achieve the desired dosage.

Apparatus and methods are provided for relieving a stenosed region of a blood vessel such as a coronary using a single catheter that relieves the angioplasty by conventional means and then delivers an easily controllable inherently uniform dosage of radiation to the walls of a blood vessel for preventing restenosis after angioplasty. An embodiment of the apparatus comprises a catheter having an angioplasty balloon that is inflatable with a liquid containing a suspended radioactive material such as .sup.125 I or .sup.32 P. The balloon is surrounded by a membrane to capture the radioactive liquid in the event the balloon ruptures. The catheter is advanced through the patient until the balloon is disposed in the stenosed region of the blood vessel. The stenosed region is relieved using the angioplasty balloon, after which the angioplasty balloon is emptied and re-filled with the radioactive liquid, which expands the balloon to engage the walls of the blood vessel thereby providing an inherently uniform dosage of radiation to the blood vessel walls. Another embodiment of the apparatus comprises a catheter having an angioplasty balloon surrounded by a radiotherapy treatment balloon that is separately inflatable with a radioactive liquid. The stenosed region is relieved using the inner angioplasty balloon after which the radiotherapy treatment balloon is filled with the radioactive liquid. An additional containment balloon outside the radiotherapy treatment balloon may also be provided to prevent loss of radioactive liquid in the event the treatment balloon ruptures. The angioplasty balloon may be partly filled during the radiation treatment to minimize the volume of radioactive liquid necessary to achieve the desired dosage.

Apparatus and methods are provided for delivering an easily controllable inherently uniform dosage of radiation to the walls of a blood vessel for preventing restenosis after angioplasty. The apparatus comprises a catheter having a balloon tip which is inflatable with a liquid containing a suspended radioactive material such as .sup.125 l or .sup.32 P. The catheter is advanced through the patient until this treatment balloon is disposed in the stenosed region of the blood vessel. The balloon is filled with the radioactive fluid which simultaneously expands and relieves the stenosis while irradiating the tissue, or if the stenosis has previously been relieved, the target tissue is irradiated by filling the treatment balloon with the radioactive fluid until the outer wall of the balloon engages, without substantially expanding, the inner wall of the blood vessel. An outer containment balloon is also provided to prevent loss of radioactive fluid in the event the treatment balloon ruptures and which may be used to perform the angioplasty prior to filling the treatment balloon with the radioactive fluid. The treatment balloon may be configured to minimize the volume of radioactive fluid necessary by providing an inner balloon filled with an inert material or by configuring the treatment balloon itself as a hollow cylinder with an annular chamber for receiving the radioactive fluid.

Intravascular radiotherapy employing a liquid-suspended source

A continuously variable hydraulic transmission composed of two variable displacement rotary vane pumps. Where the inner rotor of one pump is driven by the input shaft and the inner rotor of the other pump is held stationary by the supporting framework, both inner rotors sharing a common housing unit which rotates as the output shaft, and moves axially over the inner rotors to achieve inversely variable capacities of the two pumps and there-by varying the drive ratios between the input and output shafts. Two end plates are used, each of which rotates with its respective rotor and also moves axially with the housing unit to facilitate the variableness of the two pumps. A separating plate is incorporated between the rotors and rotates with the housing unit to maintain proper fluid pressure containment.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Wayne W Snyder