| 摘要 |
A guidewire imaging catheter includes a catheter body, housing secured to the distal end of the catheter body, a drive cable extending through a central lumen of the catheter body, and an imaging system disposed within the housing and coupled to the drive cable. A fixed guidewire is secured to the distal tip of the housing, and the catheter body is highly flexible while retaining sufficient torsional stiffness to allow the entire catheter to be used as a guidewire. Thus, the imaging guidewire can be used to first image a desired region within a patient's vascular system and subsequently as a guidewire to allow placement of a desired interventional catheter.
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