Methods for locating a blood vessel

摘要

The present invention relates to methods for differentiating a blood vessel from a nonvascular tissue during a minimally invasive surgery using a device. A device may be any penetration sensor device, such as a dilator sensor device, a hollow needle sensor device, or a trocar sensor device, which penetrates the skin and subcutaneous layers to reach a target location inside the body. The penetration sensor device includes a sensor probe which can make optical measurements to determine various parameters of the tissue at the tip of the sensor probe. These parameters may include an optical signal level returned from tissue contacting the tip of the sensor probe, an oxygen saturation level of the tissue, a total hemoglobin concentration, a blood flow, and a pulse. Based on these parameters, the presence or absence of a blood vessel at the tip of the penetration sensor device can be determined while the device travels towards the target location for surgery.

主权项

1. A method for differentiating a blood vessel from a nonvascular tissue inside a patient's body cavity during a surgical procedure, comprising:
transmitting a first light signal through optical fibers in a penetration sensor device comprising a tip, wherein the first light signal is emitted in a first direction ahead of the tip into a tissue; receiving a second light signal reflected from the tissue ahead of the tip through the optical fibers in the penetration sensor device; determining an indicator of presence of a blood vessel ahead of the tip of the penetration sensor device based on information from the first light signal and the second light signal; identifying the tissue as a blood vessel if the indicator for presence of a blood vessel is greater than a threshold, wherein the penetration sensor device comprises a penetration instrument having a tubular body with a lumen along a longitudinal axis of the tubular body, and a sensor probe, coupled to the penetration instrument, comprising a sensor unit, at a tip of the sensor probe, having emitter and detector sensor openings, optical fibers wherein a first distal end of a first optical fiber of the optical fibers is coupled to the emitter sensor opening and a second distal end of a second optical fiber of the optical fibers is coupled to the detector sensor opening, and a connector which includes proximal ends of the fibers and is configured to couple the penetration sensor device to a system unit.