Granted Patent B2

US 12,623,055 · App. 18/792,277 · Granted May 12, 2026

Inventors: William Robert McLaughlin (Bountiful, UT); Steffan Sowards (Salt Lake City, UT); Anthony K. Misener (Bountiful, UT); Shayne Messerly (Kaysville, UT)

Assignee: Bard Access Systems, Inc.

A61M25/0102A61M25/0111H01R13/5224A61B2562/227H01R2201/12

Abstract

Claims (17)

1 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon logic that, when executed by one or more processors, causes operations including:

providing an incident light signal to an optical fiber of a medical instrument, the optical fiber having one or more core fibers;

receiving a reflected light signal of the incident light signal, wherein the reflected light signal is reflected from one or more of red blood cells or tissue within a patient body into which the medical instrument is inserted;

processing the reflected light signal to determine an oxygen level within the patient body near a distal tip of the optical fiber, and

determining a location of the distal tip of the optical fiber within the patient body based on the oxygen level and an entry site of the medical instrument.

2 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more core fibers includes a plurality of sensors distributed along a longitudinal length thereof, and wherein each sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to (i) reflect a light signal of a different spectral width based on received incident light, and (ii) change a characteristic of the reflected light signal for use in determining a physical state of the optical fiber.

3 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber is a single-core optical fiber, and wherein providing the incident light signal includes providing the incident light signal in pulses.

4 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber is a multi-core optical fiber including a plurality of core fibers, and wherein a first core fiber of the plurality of core fibers is configured to propagate the incident light signal and a second core fiber of the plurality of core fibers is configured to propagate the reflected light signal.

5 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein determining the location of the distal tip of the optical fiber within the patient body is further based on knowledge of advancement of the medical instrument.

6 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including generating a display indicating the location of the distal tip of the optical fiber within the patient body.

7 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the medical instrument is one of an introducer wire, a guidewire, a stylet, a needle with the optical fiber inlayed into a cannula of the needle or a catheter with the optical fiber inlayed into one or more walls of the catheter.

8 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including detecting pneumothorax through detection of an anomalously high oxygen level.

9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the medical instrument is configured to be placed within a vessel of the patient body, and wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including detecting a direction of blood flow based on an intensity of the reflected light signal.

10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the medical instrument is configured to be placed within a vessel of the patient body, and wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including detecting a juncture of the vessel with a second vessel based on an increase in the oxygen level as indicated by the reflected light signal.

11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including detecting a change in intensity of the reflected light signal from a first intensity to a second intensity, wherein the change from the first intensity to the second intensity indicates a change in volume of blood between a first location within the patient body and a second location within the patient body.

12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the medical instrument is a needle and is configured to be placed into a vessel of the patient body, and wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including detecting a first change in an intensity of the reflected light signal indicating an entry puncture by the needle with respect to the vessel and detecting a second change in the intensity of the reflected light signal indicating an exit puncture with respect to a posterior wall of the vessel.

13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1 , wherein the logic which, when executed by the one or more processors, is configured to cause further operations including determining whether the optical fiber is located within an artery or a vein of the patient body based on the oxygen level.

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)