VISION CATHETER SYSTEM

摘要

A disposable imaging catheter that produces high resolution, color images comparable to those obtained from an endoscope. The device may also be made to function as a guidewire. The device may also include a sheath which slides over the catheter body for stiffening and which may include a working channel for accepting interventional devices, as well as LEDs to illuminate the field of view. The vision catheter system includes a detector assembly, scanning mechanism, and distal objective lens. In one embodiment, a photodetector is mated to a lens/pinhole assembly that allow the detector to read light from a small discrete point. This assembly is then scanned in raster or spiral patterns via electric wire coils that actuate a magnetic scan plate to read the area of interest. By adding a fixed objective lens, such as an aspheric lens that is attached to the distal tip of the catheter body, the filed o view or acceptance angle of the system in magnified, yielding a wide angle image similar to that commonly obtained from an endoscope.