Device for sensing parameters of a hollow body organ

Abstract

A device for sensing the profile of a hollow body organ includes a hollow guidewire or probe carrying a sensor. The hollow probe includes a distal coiled end tube with a tip bent at an angle between about 10° to 90° relative to the probe longitudinal axis and having a torque response of no more than about 0.4 ozf in. The flexural rigidity of the distal end tube relative to the mid and proximal end tubes forming the probe is generally in the range of about 1:(4 to 4,400):(110 to 13,000), respectively. An actuator is detachably secured to the probe and includes one or several motors which allow the sensor to travel in a rotational and axial path through the body organ.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 146,014 filed May 14, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 904,212 filed Jul. 12, 2001 (now abandoned).TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to invasive medical devices and more particularly to devices for sensing the profile of the interior wall of a hollow body organ such as a blood vessel. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Acute ischemic syndromes involving arterial blood vessels, such as myocardial infarction, or heart attack, and stroke, frequently occur when atherosclerotic plaque ruptures, triggering the formation of blood clots, or thrombosis. Plaque that is inflamed is particularly unstable and vulnerable to disruption, with potentially devastating consequences. Therefore, there is a strong need to detect and locate this type of plaque so that treatment can be initiated before the...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Plaque that is inflamed is particularly unstable and vulnerable to disruption, with potentially devastating consequences.

This procedure is capable of locating plaque in an artery, but is not capable of revealing whether the plaque is the inflamed, unstable type.

One problem with conventional cavity wall profiling apparatus is that they usually exert an undue amount of force on the region of interest.

If the region of interest cannot withstand these forces, it may be damaged.

The inside walls of a healthy human artery are vulnerable to such damage.

Furthermore, if inflamed, unstable plaque is present it may be ruptured by such forces.

Another problem with conventional cavity wall profiling apparatus is that they can only measure the temperature at one specific location.

This can be very tedious, can increase the risk of damaging the vessel wall or rupturing vulnerable plaque, and may not resolve temporal characteristics of the profile with sufficient resolution.

An array of probes could be employed but that could be very big and heavy.

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