Systems for treating a hollow anatomical structure
A working end of a catheter includes at least one therapeutic element, such as a resistive heating element, usable to deliver energy for ligating, or reducing the diameter of, a hollow anatomical structure. In certain examples, the catheter includes a lumen to accommodate a guide wire or to allow fluid delivery. In certain embodiments, a balloon is inflated to place resistive element(s) into apposition with a hollow anatomical structure and to occlude the structure. Indexing devices and methods are also disclosed for successively treating portions of the hollow anatomical structure. In certain examples, marks along the catheter shaft provide visual verification to the physician of the relative position of the therapeutic element of the catheter. Embodiments of indexing devices may include pairs of rings and/or hinged arms that move a catheter a desired indexed position between successive treatments.
1. A catheter to treat a hollow anatomical structure (HAS), the catheter comprising:
a catheter shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the distal end is configured for insertion into a HAS;
a balloon attached to the catheter shaft; and
a self-expandable resistive element located within a wall of the balloon, wherein the self-expandable resistive element is expandable to place the resistive element in apposition with a wall of the HAS, wherein the self-expandable resistive element is configured to generate heat when energy is applied to the self-expandable resistive element.
2. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the balloon is attached to the catheter shaft towards the distal end of the catheter shaft.
3. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the self-expandable resistive element comprises a serpentine portion extending circumferentially around the catheter shaft.
4. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the self-expandable resistive element comprises an expandable and collapsible metal braid wire.
5. The catheter of claim 4 , wherein the metal braid wire comprises a shape memory material.
6. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the self-expandable resistive element comprises a serpentine portion extending circumferentially around the balloon.
7. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the wall of the balloon comprises two layers of balloon material, and wherein the self-expandable resistive element is located between the two layers of balloon material.
8. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the self-expandable resistive element is a metal braid wire, wherein wires of the metal braid wire are electrically insulated from each other where the wires overlap.
9. The catheter of claim 1 , further comprising a temperature sensor attached to the self-expandable resistive element.
10. The catheter of claim 1 , wherein the self-expandable resistive element comprises a shape memory material.
11. A catheter comprising:
a catheter shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the distal end is configured for insertion into a hollow anatomical structure (HAS);
an expandable resistive element comprising a metal braid wire disposed on the catheter shaft towards the distal end of the catheter shaft, wherein the metal braid wire is expandable from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration in which the metal braid wire is configured to be placed in apposition with a wall of the HAS; and
a catheter stylet along an axial length of the catheter shaft and connected to the metal braid wire, wherein movement of the stylet proximally along the catheter shaft expands the metal braid wire radially outward from the collapsed configuration to the expanded configuration, and wherein movement of the stylet distally along the catheter shaft collapses the metal braid wire.
12. The catheter of claim 11 , further comprising a proximal crimp sleeve and a distal crimp sleeve, wherein the proximal crimp sleeve anchors a proximal end of the metal braid to the catheter shaft and the distal crimp sleeve anchors a distal end of the metal braid to the catheter stylet.
13. The catheter of claim 12 , further comprising a balloon placed internal to the metal braid, wherein a proximal end of the balloon is distal to the proximal crimp sleeve and a distal end of the balloon is proximal to the distal crimp sleeve.
14. The catheter of claim 11 , further comprising a balloon placed internal to the metal braid.
15. The catheter of claim 13 , wherein the balloon is configured to expand radially with substantially no axial expansion.
16. A catheter to treat a hollow anatomical structure (HAS), the catheter comprising:
a catheter shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the distal end is configured for insertion into a HAS;
a balloon attached towards the distal end of the catheter shaft; and
a single expandable resistive element located within a wall of the balloon, wherein a proximal-most end of the single expandable resistive element is positioned at a proximal-most end of the balloon and a distal-most end of the single expandable resistive element is positioned at a distal-most end of the balloon, and wherein the balloon is expandable to place the single resistive element in apposition with a wall of the HAS.
17. The catheter of claim 16 , wherein the expandable resistive element comprises a serpentine portion extending circumferentially around the balloon.
18. The catheter of claim 17 , wherein the wall of the balloon comprises two layers of balloon material, and wherein the expandable resistive element is located between the two layers of balloon material.
19. The catheter of claim 16 , wherein the expandable resistive element comprises a metal braid wire.
20. The catheter of claim 16 , wherein the expandable resistive element comprises a shape memory material.
21. The catheter of claim 16 , further comprising an indicator that shows a state of inflation of the balloon.
22. The catheter of claim 16 , wherein the balloon is configured to expand radially with substantially no axial expansion.
23. The catheter of claim 16 , further comprising a temperature sensor attached to the expandable resistive element.
24. The catheter of claim 16 , wherein the catheter shaft comprises a lumen extending internally from the proximal-most end of the catheter shaft to the balloon, wherein the lumen is configured to deliver external fluid to the balloon to expand and collapse the balloon.
25. The catheter of claim 16 , wherein the expandable resistive element is attached to signal wires in the catheter shaft.