Atherectomy catheter with aligned imager
An atherectomy catheter is provided for excising and imaging material in a body lumen. In one embodiment, the catheter comprises a catheter body, a cutting blade, and an imaging device. The cutting blade is mounted on the catheter body and configured to move between a first position and a second position relative to an aperture or cutting window. When the cutting blade is in the second position, the blade substantially closes the aperture on the catheter body. The imaging device which is mounted on or otherwise coupled to the cutting blade is configured to be in an imaging position when the cutting blade substantially closes the aperture or cutter window. This allows the imaging device to survey material within the cutting zone of the atherectomy catheter. By allowing the imaging device to view materials within this cutting zone, material may be imaged and then removed from the body lumen without having to reposition the catheter between each step.
1. A catheter for removing material from a body lumen comprising:
a catheter body including a distal portion having a longitudinal axis, an outer circumference, and a side opening window;
a tissue engaging member coupled to the catheter body, wherein the tissue engaging member is extendable outside the catheter body through the side opening window such that a portion of the tissue engaging member projects radially outward relative to the longitudinal axis of the distal portion of the catheter body beyond the outer circumference of the distal portion of the catheter body to engage tissue outside the side opening window, wherein the tissue engaging member is positionable between an extended position, in which the tissue engaging member extends outside the catheter body, and a stowed position, in which an entirety of the tissue engaging member is in the distal portion of the catheter body; and
an imaging device coupled to the tissue engaging member for imaging the body lumen, wherein the imaging device is alignable with the side opening window in a radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the distal portion of the catheter body when the tissue engaging member is in the stowed position so that the imaging device is capable of imaging tissue through the side opening window,
wherein the tissue engaging member is movable along and within the distal portion of the catheter body,
wherein the imaging device is coupled to the tissue engaging member such that movement of the tissue engaging member along and within the distal portion of the catheter body imparts movement of the imaging device along and within the distal portion of the catheter body.
2. The catheter set forth in claim 1 , wherein the tissue engaging member extends at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the distal portion of the catheter body when the tissue engaging member is in the extended position.
3. The catheter set forth in claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is rotatable relative to the catheter body.
4. The catheter set forth in claim 1 , wherein the imaging device comprises an ultrasonic transducer.
5. The catheter set forth in claim 1 , wherein the catheter body is sized and shaped for introduction into a blood vessel.
6. The catheter set forth in claim 5 , wherein the tissue engaging member is configured to engage atheromatous deposits in the blood vessel.