TEMPERATURE SENSING CATHETER

摘要

A thermal sensing catheter (114) for detecting and isolating unstable arteri al plaque. Miniaturized temperature sensors (106), preferably in the form of microthermistors, are embedded into expandable presentation elements (110) disposed at the distal end of a catheter. The sensors (106) may then be deployed to measure the surface temperature of the inner wall of coronary arteries or other vessels at multiple sites to identify sites of elevated temperature indicative of unstable plaque. A plurality of thermal sensors (106) are embedded into the sides of polymeric or metallic sensing elements (108) which expand out from the centerline of a catheter (114) toward the inner vessel walls.