Method and device for scanning blood vessels

Inventors

KIM, Hungil • CHOI, Sogi • Han, Jongwoo • Lee, JiYoon

Assignees

Dotter Inc

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of scanning a blood vessel according to several exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The method may include: inserting a first catheter for applying a fluorescent material into the blood vessel; applying the fluorescent material to a target point in the blood vessel using the first catheter; inserting a second catheter for scanning the blood vessel into the blood vessel after removing the first catheter from the blood vessel; and acquiring microstructure information and biochemical information of the blood vessel by using the second catheter after the second catheter is inserted into the blood vessel.

Core Innovation

The invention concerns a method of scanning a blood vessel that applies a fluorescent material at a target point and then acquires microstructure information and biochemical information. A first catheter is inserted to apply the fluorescent material, after which the first catheter is removed and a second catheter is inserted for scanning. The approach links fluorescent-material delivery with subsequent optical acquisition at the same target point.

For applying the fluorescent material, the method uses a fluorescent material transfer tube having at least one micro-hole in a first region in a horizontal direction, transferring fluorescent material to the micro-hole(s) so that the fluorescent material is discharged from the micro-hole(s). A distal expandable balloon is used to apply the fluorescent material to the target point by expanding into contact with an inner wall of the blood vessel, and a region corresponding to the target point can be blocked during discharge.

For scanning and information acquisition, the second catheter acquires optical signals to derive microstructure information and biochemical information of the blood vessel at the target point. Microstructure information is obtained using optical coherence tomography, and biochemical information is obtained using near-infrared fluorescence, with optional intravascular ultrasound/near-infrared fluorescence catheter configurations. The method is complemented by an apparatus including a first catheter, a second catheter, a driving unit for rotating and moving the catheters, and a data analysis unit for acquiring the microstructure and biochemical information based on scanning data.

Claims Coverage

The document provides two independent claims covering a method for scanning a blood vessel using two catheters for fluorescent-material delivery and subsequent optical acquisition, and an apparatus configured to perform the same workflow. Across the independent claims, the inventive features focus on fluorescent material transfer through micro-holes, catheter sequencing, target-point application, and derivation of microstructure information and biochemical information using scanning data from a second catheter.

The claim set covers both the method and apparatus in which a fluorescent material is applied to a target point using a first catheter with a fluorescent material transfer tube discharging through micro-hole(s), followed by scanning with a second catheter to acquire microstructure information and biochemical information, derived from scanning data using the second catheter.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications