A myocardial revascularization system that includes a laser energy source (e.g., a semiconductor laser), an outer guide member providing access to a patient's heart, and an optical fiber. The optical fiber is coupled to receive laser energy pulses from the source, is slidably located within the guide member, and is extendible from the distal end of the guide member. A drive motor is connected to the fiber to automatically move the distal end of the optical fiber with respect to the distal end of the guide member. A controller controls the drive motor to automatically move the fiber in synchronism with firing of the laser energy, and automatically calibrates the position of the distal end of the fiber with respect to the distal end of the catheter. The fiber has, at its tip, an enlargened portion with a front surface coated with a heat absorbing material that is nonmetallic and is partially transparent to the pulses. The outer guide member is 7 French or smaller and has a deflectable distal end. A lubricant is located between the optical fiber and an inner lumen surface of the guide member and on the outer surface of the outer guide member. Position sensing components are carried by the optical fiber and outer guide member at or near their distal ends.
An optical imaging device includes a reference scanning unit offering a high signal-to-noise ratio and capable of scanning an object rapidly. An interference optical system can be realized inexpensively. In the optical imaging device, low coherent light passed through an optical coupler and another optical coupler, irradiated from an optical scanner probe, reflected from an observed point in a living tissue, returned to the optical coupler, propagated over a fourth SM optical fiber, and routed to another optical coupler shall be referred to as sample light. Light passed through an optical length variation optical system via the optical coupler and routed to the optical coupler shall be referred to as reference light. At this time, a difference between a delay time undergone by the sample light and a delay time undergone by the reference light is proportional to a difference between an optical length for the sample light and an optical length for the reference light. When the optical length difference falls within a coherence length, the sample light and reference light interfere with each other. An interfering signal is acquired into a computer through detectors, a differential amplifier, a demodulator, and an A/D converter.
An electromagnetic sensor capable of maintaining its accuracy through temperature cycling is provided. The sensor element material of an electromagnetic sensor is covered by an encapsulant having substantially similar thermal expansion values as the sensor element material. By matching the thermal expansion values of the components, changes in component orientation may be minimized during temperature cycling thus reducing the need for recalibration of the sensor assembly. In one embodiment the encapsulant is doped with a ceramic material or glass microspheres to achieve a thermal expansion coefficient similar to the thermal expansion coefficient of the copper sensor element material.
An optical imaging device includes a reference scanning unit offering a high signal-to-noise ratio and capable of scanning an object rapidly. An interference optical system can be realized inexpensively. In the optical imaging device, low coherent light passed through an optical coupler and another optical coupler, irradiated from an optical scanner probe, reflected from an observed point in a living tissue, returned to the optical coupler, propagated over a fourth SM optical fiber, and routed to another optical coupler shall be referred to as sample light. Light passed through an optical length variation optical system via the optical coupler and routed to the optical coupler shall be referred to as reference light. At this time, a difference between a delay time undergone by the sample light and a delay time undergone by the reference light is proportional to a difference between an optical length for the sample light and an optical length for the reference light. When the optical length difference falls within a coherence length, the sample light and reference light interfere with each other. An interfering signal is acquired into a computer through detectors, a differential amplifier, a demodulator, and an A/D converter.
Devices and methods for performing improved percutaneous myocardial revascularization (PMR) procedures. One device includes a preassembled PMR drug delivery catheter and a drug neutralizing vial. The vial assembly allows prepping the PMR catheter by flushing drug through distal needle, and into a vial cavity where the drug is neutralized by a neutralizing agent. One set of devices includes needles having protrusions secured to the distal regions of drug delivery tubes. One needle has outward protruding barbs engaging the inner tube wall while another needle has outward threads which can screw into the tube inner wall. Radiopaque marker bands are also included in the present invention which are asymmetrically distributed on the catheter shaft, allowing a treating physician to determine under fluoroscopy whether the catheter distal region is pointed away or toward the treating physician, as well as determining whether the catheter distal region is rotated toward or away from the treating physician. PMR devices include catheters having dual injection needles, for both injecting a drug into the heart wall and a radiopaque contrast media to mark the already treated sites. One PMR injection device has multiple stops for allowing controlled, variable needle depth penetration with a single distal needle tip.
