Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting nuclear – electromagnetic – or ultrasonic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-31
2002-04-23
Jaworski, Francis J. (Department: 3737)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting nuclear, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic radiation
C604S529000, C600S463000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06375615
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to medical devices and methods, and more particularly to catheter devices and methods that are useable to form channels (e.g., penetration tracts) between vessels such as arteries and veins and vessels and other anatomical structures, in furtherance of a therapeutic purpose such as bypassing an arterial blockage, delivering therapuetic agents, or performing other interventional procedures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of premature death and morbidity, in most regions of the world. Various transluminal, catheter-based interventional techniques have been used, or proposed for use, to dilate or otherwise treat atherosclerotic obstructions that occur in coronary and/or peripheral arteries. These therapies have traditionally focused on treating the disease intraluminally, or from “within” the vessel lumen.
Included among the newer interventional techniques are certain percutaneous, transluminal techniques for bypassing obstructions in coronary or peripheral arteries through the use of the adjacent vein(s) as in situ bypass conduit(s); (e.g. using catheters to perform extra luminal procedures outside the diseased vessel lumen. These procedures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,222 (Makower) and in published PCT Applications WO 98/16161 and WO 98/46119. As described therein, in some instances, these procedures may be performed by a venous approach wherein a tissue penetrating catheter is inserted into a vein and the desired passageway or puncture is initially formed by facilitating the passage of a tissue penetrator (e.g., a flow of energy or an elongate penetration member) from a catheter, through the wall of the vein in which the catheter is positioned, and into a target location such as the lumen of an adjacent vessel (e.g. the artery). Alternatively, some of these procedures may be performed by an arterial approach wherein the catheter is inserted into an artery and the desired passageway or puncture is initially formed by facilitating the passage of a tissue penetrator (e.g., a flow of energy or elongate penetration member) from the catheter, through the wall of the artery in which the catheter is positioned, and into the target location such as the lumen of an adjacent vessel (e.g. a vein). It is typically necessary for the tissue-penetrating catheter to be placed in proper rotational orientation within the blood vessel, prior to facilitating the passage of the tissue penetrator therefrom, to ensure that the tissue penetrator is aimed or positioned to enter the target. To facilitate such aiming of the tissue penetrator, some of the previously described tissue penetrating catheters have included a penetrator direction marker that indicates the direction in which the tissue penetrator will pass from the catheter and an imaging catheter lumen through which a separate intravascular ultrasound imaging catheter (IVUS catheter) can be advanced. After the separate IVUS catheter has been advanced into the imaging lumen of the tissue penetrating catheter, the IVUS is used to image the target and the penetrator direction marker. The catheter can then be rotated within the blood vessel until the penetrator direction marker is aligned with the target, thereby indicating that subsequent advancement of the tissue penetrator from the catheter will result in the formation of the desired penetration tract between the blood vessel in which the catheter is positioned and the target.
Applicant has determined that, in cases where the tissue-penetrating catheter is to be placed in a relatively small blood vessel such as branches of the coronary artery, carotid arteries, or smaller vessels located in the peripheral vasculature (e.g. vessels in the arms or legs), it is desirable for the tissue penetrating catheter to be of reduced profile while still having sufficient column strength and torque transfer properties to allow the operator to rotate and maneuver the distal end of the catheter within the patients body by twisting, pushing and pulling the proximal end of the catheter that remains outside of the patient's body. Thus, because the provision of a separate imaging catheter lumen substantially increases the required diameter of the tissue penetrating catheter, it is desirable to devise new tissue penetrating catheter designs that do not include an imaging catheter lumen while still maintaining the capability of imaging from a vantage point near the catheter's distal end to facilitate proper rotational orientation of the tissue penetrating catheter to facilitate aiming of the tissue penetrator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention facilitates accurate and reliable orientation of a tissue penetrating catheter in a blood vessel so that an adjacently located blood vessel or other anatomical target can be accurately penetrated, while eliminating the need for formation of a separate imaging lumen within the tissue penetrating catheter. Thus, because the need for an imaging lumen has been eliminated, the tissue penetrating catheters of this invention may be of reduced profile (e.g., 5-7 French diameter).
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a tissue penetrating catheter device that comprises an elongated catheter having an instrument lumen to facilitate the passage of a tissue penetrator, a penetrator direction marker, and an integral imaging transducer (e.g., an IVUS transducer). To facilitate orientation, the imaging transducer is useable to provide an imaging signal from which an image of the target structure and other adjacent anatomical structures can be obtained. The imaging transducer is fixedly mounted on or within the catheter, thereby eliminating the need for a separate imaging lumen which requires sufficient clearance in the lumen to allow a separate imaging transducer to be advanced and retracted in the lumen. This in turn enables the catheter to be of smaller cross sectional area. In addition, by fixedly mounting the imaging transducer on the catheter, its orientation relative to the catheter and certain components on the catheter can be specifically known.
One advantageous approach to imaging is to employ an imaging transducer which includes a plurality of imaging elements fixedly mounted on the catheter to provide an imaging signal from which an image of adjacent structures can be obtained. The imaging elements are mounted on the catheter at known circumferential locations relative to the path that will be followed by the tissue penetrator as the tissue penetrator exits from the catheter. The image obtained from the imaging signal from the imaging transducer is useable by the operator to rotationally orient the catheter such that, when the tissue penetrator subsequently exits the catheter, the tissue penetrator will extend into the desired target. In addition, the imaging transducer is useable to image other structures to allow several diagnostic functions such as assessing calcification of a vessel, distance of the target location to the vessel in which the catheter is positioned, and the presence of other devices.
Another advantageous approach to imaging is to provide an imaging marker on the catheter to form, on the image obtainable from the imaging signal from the imaging transducer, a penetrator path indication. This penetrator path indication is indicative of the path that will be followed by the tissue penetrator when the tissue penetrator exits from the catheter. The imaging transducer and the marker are useable in cooperation with each other to enable the operator to rotationally orient the catheter until the penetrator path indicator is aimed at the target thereby indicating that when the tissue penetrator exits from the catheter it will extend to the target as desired. The imaging elements fixedly mounted on the catheter at known circumferential locations can also be used to orient the catheter without any imageable markers.
When an imageable marker is used, it preferably includes a structure formed on the catheter including a
Chang John Y.
Evard Philip C.
Flaherty J. Christopher
Makower Joshua
Tholfsen David R.
Buyan Robert D.
Jaworski Francis J.
Stout, Uxa Buyan & Mullins, LLP
TransVascular, Inc.
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