Covidien LP

Fox Hollow Technologies, Inc.

William John Olson

The present invention is an atherectomy catheter with a rotary cutting knife that is driven from the distal (nose) or side (circumference) direction. The catheter collects plaque shavings in a hollow collection chamber mounted in between the rotary cutting knife and the main catheter tubing. In contrast to prior art designs, which utilized nose mounted plaque collection chambers, the present design is able to store a substantially larger volume of removed plaque, thus increasing the length of time and amount of plaque removal that can be accomplished before the catheter must be removed from the body and cleaned. This decreases medical procedure time, allows for more complete and careful plaque removal, and reduces the burden on the patient and physician.

Debulking catheter

An atherectomy catheter with a rotary cutting element is provided. The catheter collects plaque shavings in a hollow collection chamber. The catheter includes a drive shaft connected between a source of rotational power and the distal side of the cutting element, no part of the drive shaft being contained within the collection chamber.

High capacity debulking catheter with distal driven cutting wheel

The present invention is an atherectomy catheter with a hollow head. The head has a window with at least one internal bladed edge, a plunger, and an adjustable angle nose. The angle of the nose can be manipulated by the operator to apply pressure to an artery wall, thereby forcing the window and the window cutting edge up against a plaque target on the opposite side of the artery wall. The position of the plunger can be manipulated by the operator to open or close the window, thereby exposing or not exposing the bladed window edge, and optionally also pinching off dangling plaque fragments. Cut plaque enters the hollow catheter head through the open window, and is stored inside the catheter for removal from the body and subsequent analysis. In some embodiments, the catheter head may have optional sensors, or the plunger may also serve as a rotary cutter.

High capacity debulking catheter with razor edge cutting window

An atherectomy catheter includes a rotary cutting knife that is driven from the distal (nose) or side (circumference) direction. The catheter collects plaque shavings in a hollow collection chamber mounted in between the rotary cutting knife and the main catheter tubing. In contrast to prior art designs, which utilized nose mounted plaque collection chambers, the present design is able to store a substantially larger volume of removed plaque, thus increasing the length of time and amount of plaque removal that can be accomplished before the catheter must be removed from the body and cleaned. This decreases medical procedure time, allows for more complete and careful plaque removal, and reduces the burden on the patient and physician.

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Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

William John Olson