Common-Path OCT Catheter for Stable Intravascular Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing OCT systems are difficult to implement in catheters due to the need for high power operation and stable interferometers, and conventional imaging methods lack sufficient resolution for guiding catheters through blood vessels, leading to potential tissue damage and inability to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue.
Innovation Solution
A low-cost, disposable OCT catheter system using a common-path optical fiber with mismatched refractive indices and a gold-coated silicon die mirror, combined with a handle for rotating the catheter and fiber, allowing for efficient and high-quality imaging within blood vessels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional OCT systems are implemented in catheters, then imaging capability is provided, but the system requires high power operation and stable interferometers, increasing device complexity and making it difficult to implement in small catheters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the reference arm and measurement arm into a single optical path within the catheter, eliminating the need for separate interferometer components. This integration reduces device complexity while maintaining OCT imaging capability, allowing the system to be implemented in small-diameter catheters without requiring high power operation or stable external interferometers
Solution Approach 2:
The optical fiber is nested within the catheter structure, with the distal end of the fiber positioned at the tip of the catheter. This nesting allows the OCT imaging system to be contained within the small diameter of the catheter, reducing overall device complexity and enabling implementation in constrained medical environments
2Measurement precision
If ultrasound or radiological imaging methods are used, then imaging is provided, but the resolution is insufficient to guide catheters through blood vessels with critical precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical ultrasound transducers and radiological imaging systems with an optical fiber-based OCT system. This substitution provides significantly higher resolution imaging capability, enabling precise guidance of the catheter through blood vessels and reducing the risk of tissue damage by allowing visualization of vessel walls and plaques at the critical fraction of a millimeter scale
3Loss of information
If standard radiological techniques are used, then imaging is provided, but the ability to discriminate between healthy and diseased tissue is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the ability of OCT to detect variations in light scattering and reflection from different tissue types, effectively providing optical 'color' information that distinguishes between healthy and diseased tissue. The system can identify plaque composition, vessel wall layers, and tissue integrity based on optical properties, enabling accurate tissue differentiation that radiological techniques cannot provide
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides high-quality imaging with low noise levels, enabling precise tissue identification and reduced procedure time, improving patient outcomes by minimizing tissue damage and enhancing surgical precision.
Implementation Method 1
an optical fiber providing a common path for optical radiation reflected from a reference interface and a target
Implementation Method 2
The interface medium has a second refractive index. The first refractive index and the second refractive index are mismatched
Implementation Method 3
optical radiation reflected from a reference interface and a target
Implementation Method 4
a detector to receive the optical radiation reflected from the reference and the target
Implementation Method 5
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been proposed as one technique that may be particularly helpful for imaging regions of tissue
Data Source
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AI summary
A catheter system for optical coherence tomography is described. The catheter comprises: an elongate catheter body; an optical fiber within the elongate catheter body; a swept-frequency source of optical radiation configured to provide optical radiation to a core of the optical fiber; a reference interface comprising a solid transparent adhesive, a distal end of the optical fiber embedded within the reference interface, wherein the reference interface is configured to reflect a first portion of the optical radiation back into the core and to transfer a second portion of the optical radiation to a target; receiving electronics configured to receive optical radiation from the core that has been reflected from the reference interface and the target; and a processor configured to generate an image of the target based upon the optical radiation received by the receiving electronics.