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:
Sep. 27, 1994
Filed:
Mar. 15, 1993
Lawrence I Deckelbaum, Woodbridge, CT (US);
John J Scott, Milford, CT (US);
Yale University, New Haven, CT (US);
Abstract
Methods are provided for laser induced fluorescence intensity feedback and control during laser angioplasty. In a first aspect of the invention, a catheter including an eccentric guidewire lumen and at least one optical fiber is positioned relative to an obstruction in a blood vessel by rotating the catheter and monitoring the fluorescence intensity. When the fluorescence intensity has a maximum value, the optical fiber is aligned with the obstruction. In another aspect of the invention, fluorescence intensity feedback is used to determine when a laser ablation device has crossed an occlusion. An abrupt drop in fluorescence intensity indicates that the ablation device has crossed the occlusion. In a further aspect of the invention, fluorescence intensity feedback is used to determine the effectiveness of fluid flushing in a blood vessel. In yet another aspect of the invention, fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence intensity monitoring are performed sequentially for different subsets of optical fibers in a laser catheter to provide precise control over fiber positioning, tissue diagnosis and ablation. Preferably, the fluorescence intensity feedback is used in conjunction with fluorescence spectroscopy.