Low profile electrodes for a shock wave catheter

Inventors

Vo, Khanh • GALLEGO, Jonathan • Phan, Huy

Assignees

Shockwave Medical Inc

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for treating tight, hard-to-cross calcified lesions in which an angioplasty balloon is used to dilate the lesions and provide shock waves to restore normal blood flow in a patient's artery. An exemplary device includes an elongated tube and a balloon wrapped circumferentially around the tube and sealed to a distal end of the tube. During treatment, the device is advanced into a patient's vasculature and the balloon is inflated with conductive fluid such that the balloon is fixed to walls of the vasculature proximal to the calcified lesion. The balloon includes at least one low-profile emitter positioned near the distal end of the balloon, which may be activated to generate shock waves to break loose calcifications in the lesion. After calcium in the tight lesion has been modified, the balloon can be deflated and advanced further into the lesion to continue treatment.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a device for generating shock waves that includes an elongated tube and a balloon wrapped circumferentially around a portion of the elongated tube. The balloon has a distal end sealed to the elongated tube, a leg segment extending directly from the distal end, a cone segment extending directly from the leg segment, and a straight segment extending directly from the cone segment. When the balloon is inflated, the leg segment is tapered with an average diameter, the cone segment is tapered with an average diameter greater than the average diameter of the leg segment, and the straight segment is substantially cylindrical with a diameter greater than the average diameter of the cone segment.

A plurality of distal emitters is configured to generate shock waves, and includes at least two distal emitters positioned in the cone segment of the balloon. Each of the at least two distal emitters positioned in the cone segment generates shock waves at at least two different locations in the cone segment of the balloon, and the plurality of distal emitters also includes at least one distal emitter positioned in the leg segment of the balloon.

The described balloon geometry supports placement of multiple distal emitters across different balloon segments, specifically including locations in the cone segment and at least one location in the leg segment. The system is also described as supporting selective shock-wave generation using a variable high-voltage pulse generator that can be activated to generate shock waves at the plurality of distal emitters or at at least one proximal emitter.

Claims Coverage

The partial claim set provided includes one independent claim for a shock-wave generating device with a specific multi-segment balloon geometry and multi-location distal emitters. No other independent claims are explicitly included in the provided claim text.

Overall, the claim coverage centers on a device for generating shock waves using an elongated tube with a specific inflated balloon diameter profile across leg, cone, and straight segments, combined with a plurality of distal emitters that generate shock waves at multiple locations in the cone segment and at least one location in the leg segment, with selective activation using a variable high-voltage pulse generator.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications