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Endoluminal implant with fluid flow sensing capability
| Details |
Inventors: Cimochowski, George E.; Keilman, George W.;
Assignee: VascuSense, Inc. (Woodinville, WA)
Primary Examiner: Jaworski; Francis J.
Assistant Examiner: Imam; Ali M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Anderson; Ronald M.
A stent or graft stent energized from an external power source is provided with one or more sensors to sense a parameter, producing a signal that is transmitted outside a vessel in which the stent is implanted. At least a portion of a body of the stent or an insulated electrical conductor comprises a plurality of turns that serve as an RF antenna. An expandable mesh or helical coils that form the stent body may serve as the antenna or it may comprise a separate insulated conductor. The RF antenna receives energy electromagnetically coupled to the antenna from an external (or implanted) coil and conveys a data signal corresponding to the parameter sensed by the sensor(s) on the stent or stent graft to a monitor disposed outside the patient's body. In one form of the invention, a plurality of conformal array transducers are used to produce and sense ultrasonic waves that are affected by a fluid flowing through a lumen of the stent. This transducer determines fluid flow or fluid velocity. In other embodiments, one or more integrated circuit (IC) sensors are used to sense other physical or biological parameters in the proximity of the stent, producing signals that are multiplexed by an electronics circuit and transmitted to the external monitor/power supply. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention in which an exclusive right is claimed is defined by the following: 1.
An endoluminal implant adapted to be inserted into a body passage and to determine a condition of fluid flow through the endoluminal implant within the body passage, comprising: (a) a generally tubular shaped member having two states, including a compact state in which the member has a first cross-sectional size and an expanded state in which the member has a second cross-sectional size, said second cross-sectional size being substantially greater than said first cross-sectional size, said member including an electrical conductor; (b) a sensor that is adapted to monitor a parameter related to fluid flow through said member, producing a signal indicative of said parameter; and (c) a data transmitter coupled to the sensor to receive the signal, said data transmitter also being coupled to the member and adapted to transmit electromagnetic data corresponding to the signal outside the body passage in which the endoluminal implant is installed, using the electrical conductor of the member as an antenna.
2.
The endoluminal implant of claim 1, further comprising an external coil adapted to be disposed proximate to the member, but outside the body passage, said external coil receiving the electromagnetic data transmitted from the member.
3.
The endoluminal implant of claim 2, further comprising a monitor that is coupled to the external coil for displaying an indication of the parameter, as a function of the electromagnetic data, said monitor including a power source, said external coil electromagnetically transferring electrical power to the electrical antenna from the power source.
4.
The endoluminal implant of claim 1, wherein the member comprises a spiral winding.
5.
The endoluminal implant of claim 1, wherein the member comprises a helical braid.
6.
The endoluminal implant of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an ultrasonic transmitter that produces an ultrasonic waveform directed through an interior portion of the member, said ultrasonic waveform being affected by a fluid flowing through the interior portion of the member to provide an indication of the condition of the fluid flow through the member
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Heart Surgery 
