| 摘要 |
An apparatus and method for identifying and marking regions of tissue obstruction in the upper airway of a patient. The invention provides a greatly improved method for use during a sleep apnea study to particularize the location of a region of obstruction. The precise location of the obstruction may be marked for surgical removal or reduction. Broadly speaking, the apparatus (10) includes a multi-luminate catheter (12) having an outer wall (18) circumscribed by multiple discrete perforate regions (26). The distal portion (32) of each lumen (24) opens into a selected perforate region (26), and the proximal portion (36) is coupled with a pressure transducer (14). Each lumen (24) is equipped with a syringe port (38) for injecting a tissue marking dye (40) into the obstructing tissue region. The catheter out wall (18) may include a radiopaque marker in order to facilitate location of the catheter within the airway of a patient.
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