Enhanced Efficacy Lung Volume Reduction Devices, Methods, and Systems
A lung volume reduction system is disclosed comprising an implantable device adapted to be delivered to a lung airway of a patient in a delivery configuration and to change to a deployed configuration to bend the lung airway. The invention also discloses a method of bending a lung airway of a patient comprising inserting a device into the airway in a delivery configuration and bending the device into a deployed configuration, thereby bending the airway.
1 . A method for treating a lung of a patient, the lung including an airway system comprising a first airway and a second airway, the method comprising:
imaging the thoracic cavity of the patient before a treatment to generate pre-treatment image data;
processing and evaluating the pre-treatment image data to provide pre-treatment data indicating a pre-treatment lung characteristic;
based on the pre-treatment lung characteristic, selecting a first implant for deployment into the lung to improve the pre-treatment lung characteristic from a plurality of alternatively selectable implants;
deploying the first implant to a first portion of the lung from within the first airway so as to compress the first portion of the lung;
imaging the thoracic cavity of the patient after the treatment to generate post-treatment image data;
processing and evaluating the post-treatment image data to provide post-treatment data; and
comparing the pre-treatment data and the post-treatment data to verify whether the pre-treatment lung characteristic improved to a desired lung characteristic.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment lung characteristic comprises a localized density of one or more portions of the lung.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the localized density is determined based on a density distribution map.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment lung characteristic comprises a shape, a curvature, a position of a diaphragm, or an orientation of the diaphragm.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment lung characteristic is characterized by a pre-treatment forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1).
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment FEV 1 that is greater than the pre-treatment FEV1 by 8% or more.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment FEV1 that is greater than the pre-treatment FEV1 by between 10% and 30%.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment FEV1 that is greater than the pre-treatment FEV1 by between 75% and 150%.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment residual lung volume that is greater than a pre-treatment residual lung volume by 6% or greater.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that the pre-treatment lung characteristic did not improve to the desired lung characteristic;
selecting a second implant for deployment from the plurality of alternatively selectable implants; and
deploying the second implant to a second portion of the lung from within the second airway so as to compress the second portion of the lung.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring a change in a volume of the lung during compression of the first portion of the lung to evaluate a treatment effectiveness.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring a change of air flow of the lung during compression of the first portion of the lung to evaluate a treatment effectiveness.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring a change of lung pressure versus lung volume during compression of the first portion of the lung to evaluate a treatment effectiveness.
14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising measuring a blood oxygen content of the patient.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first implant comprises a coil having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the first portion of the lung is laterally compressed between the proximal end and the distal end when the first implant is deployed.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the first implant is deployed such that it permits airflow in opposing directions through the first airway past the first implant.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first implant comprises a coil, and wherein the first implant is selected based on a coil length.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the coil length of the first implant is greater than a length of a target axial region.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the coil length of the first implant is greater than the length of the target axial region by 10% or more.
20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first implant comprises a coil, and wherein the first implant is selected based on a coil shape.