APPARATUSES FOR POSITIONING WITHIN AN INTERNAL CHANNEL

摘要

Methods and apparatuses for positioning medical devices onto (or close to) a desired portion of the interior wall of an internal channel, such as for scan imaging, for photodynamic therapy and/or for optical temperature measurement. In one embodiment, a catheter assembly has a distal portion that can be changed from a configuration suitable for traversing the internal channel to another configuration suitable for scan at least a spiral section of the interior wall of an internal channel, such as an artery. In one example, the distal portion spirals into gentle contact with (or close to) a spiral section of the artery wall for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scanning. The spiral radius may be changed through the use of a guidewire, a tendon, a spiral balloon, a tube, or other ways.

主权项

1. An elongated assembly, comprising:
a proximal portion; and a distal portion, the distal portion to be inserted into a blood vessel, the distal portion controllable through the proximal portion, the distal portion comprising:
an elongated sheath, the elongated sheath housing a core capable of emitting an optical beam for imaging, the core movable along the sheath;a guide structure coupled with the elongated sheath, the guide structure being controllable through the proximal portion to increase an overall diameter of the distal portion from a first overall diameter of a first configuration to a second overall diameter of a second configuration, in the second configuration the elongated sheath having a substantially spiral shape having a plurality of spirals, the sheath being made of a material that is substantially transparent or translucent on an outside of the spirals, wherein the guide structure, through lateral movement in a lumen of the elongated sheath, cause the sheath to take the spiral shape; and a control mechanism to facilitate movement of the core through the spirals while imaging, wherein the spiral shape has a pre-shaped spiral radius having a pitch length of the spirals that is selected to be less than ten times a known radius of the vessel.