The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 06, 2026
Filed:
Aug. 23, 2022
The General Hospital Corporation, Boston, MA (US);
Andrew D. Thrapp, Boston, MA (US);
Osman O. Ahsen, Boston, MA (US);
Guillermo J. Tearney, Boston, MA (US);
Farouc A. Jaffer, Boston, MA (US);
Joseph A. Gardecki, Boston, MA (US);
Mohamad B. Kassab, Boston, MA (US);
Adam Mauskapf, Boston, MA (US);
The General Hospital Corporation, Boston, MA (US);
Abstract
A method for detecting inflammatory activity, including: providing a catheter including a near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging system configured to perform NIRF imaging and an optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging system configured to perform structural imaging; introducing a near-infrared fluorescent cathepsin-activatable imaging agent into a blood vessel; placing a distal end of the catheter within the blood vessel; obtaining, using the OCT imaging system, structural images of an atherosclerotic plaque within the blood vessel; obtaining, using the NIRF imaging system. NIRF images of the atherosclerotic plaque within the blood vessel; detecting the near-infrared fluorescent cathepsin-activatable imaging agent in the NIRF images; and identifying inflammation within the atherosclerotic plaque based on detecting the near-infrared fluorescent cathepsin-activatable imaging agent in the NIRF images.