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. 26, 1995
Filed:
Dec. 09, 1993
Hugh L Narciso, Jr, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
PDT Cardiovascular, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Interpreting the relative danger of a lesion within the vasculature is limited by a lack of information on the composition of lesion. It is believed that a lesion which is high in lipids is more prone to rupture followed by thrombosis than a stable highly calcific, fibrotic, high grade stenosis. To address this recent hypothesis, a method of diagnosing and treating the most problematic vascular lesions is presented. The method employs the selective uptake of a lipophilic fluorescent compound by a lesion followed by the application of excitation light to the fluorescent compound-ladened lesion causing the fluorescent compound to emit fluorescence light. The intensity of the fluorescence light indicates the lipid content and/or the fibrous cap thickness, thus providing information on the potential danger of the lesion and enabling the clinician to treat the lesion in a manner which provides the patient with the best chance for clinical success.