CN116327138A - Intravascular imaging catheter and imaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an intravascular imaging catheter and an imaging system. The imaging catheter includes: a drive shaft, an optical integration component, and a light exit window; the optical signal enters the optical fiber in the driving shaft from the proximal end of the catheter wall, and enters the optical integrated component through a gap of about 0-2mm after being emitted from the optical fiber; the driving shaft is used for driving the optical signal to rotate so as to change the propagation path of the optical signal in the optical fiber; after entering the optical integration component, the optical signal sequentially passes through the transmission of the first lens and the reflection of the second lens of the optical integration component, and the optical signal is emitted from the light emitting window; the light signal is reflected and scattered by the vessel wall after exiting the light exit window, and the imaging catheter is configured to receive the reflected and scattered light signal to generate an image based on the reflected and scattered light signal. The optical integrated component replaces the optical component combination made of glass materials in the imaging catheter, so that the volume of the imaging catheter can be reduced, the assembly difficulty of the imaging catheter is reduced, and the cost of the imaging catheter is saved.

Description

Intravascular Imaging Catheters and Imaging Systems

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of medical devices, in particular to an imaging catheter and an imaging system.

Background technique

In the existing imaging catheter, multiple optical components made of glass (such as Green lenses and reflective prisms) need to be arranged in sequence, so that the optical signal in the imaging catheter can be transmitted and reflected by multiple optical components, and finally exit the imaging catheter and be Body wall reflections and scattering. However, the combination of optical components made of glass has the disadvantages of large volume, high equipment difficulty, and high cost.

Contents of the invention

In view of this, the object of the present invention is to provide an imaging catheter and an imaging system. By replacing the combination of optical components made of glass in the imaging catheter with optically integrated components, the volume of the imaging catheter can be reduced, the difficulty of assembling the imaging catheter can be reduced, and the cost can be saved. Cost of imaging catheter.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an intravascular imaging catheter. The imaging catheter includes: a drive shaft, an optical integration component, and a light exit window; the drive shaft is arranged in the lumen of the imaging catheter, and the lumen of the drive shaft is provided with an optical fiber. The optical integrated component is arranged at the distal end of the catheter wall of the imaging catheter, and the side of the distal end of the catheter wall is provided with an opening as a light exit window; the drive shaft extends from the proximal end of the catheter wall to the distal end of the catheter wall, and the optical signal is transmitted from the catheter wall The proximal end enters the optical fiber in the drive shaft, and the optical signal propagates in the optical fiber. After the optical signal is emitted from the optical fiber, it enters the optical integrated component through a gap of about 0-2 mm; the drive shaft is used to drive the optical signal to rotate to change the optical signal. The path propagating in the optical fiber; the optical integration component includes a first lens and a second lens, after the optical signal enters the optical integration component, it passes through the transmission of the first lens and the reflection of the second lens in turn, and the optical signal is emitted from the light exit window; The light exit window is reflected and scattered by the blood vessel wall, and the imaging catheter is used to receive the reflected and scattered light signal to generate an image based on the reflected and scattered light signal.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, a proximal joint is provided at the proximal end of the catheter wall, and the proximal joint is connected to the joint of the external rotary connector; the joint of the rotary connector is used to provide the torque for driving the shaft to rotate.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned rotary connector is connected with an external integrated catheter system engine; the integrated catheter system engine is used to send out light signals, and generate images based on reflected and scattered light signals.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the catheter wall is a hollow braided tubular structure made of polymer material, and the drive shaft is a spring tube with a hollow torque transmission structure.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned imaging catheter further includes: a sleeve; the sleeve is disposed on the periphery of the optical integration component, and the sleeve is used to protect the light transmission of the optical integration component from external influences.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the casing is made of transparent material, and the transparent material includes quartz and polymer tubes.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned imaging catheter further includes: a developing ring; the developing ring is arranged at the distal end of the imaging catheter wall, and the developing ring is used for positioning the position of the imaging catheter in the human body.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the optical integrated component is made of optical plastic material, and the optical plastic material includes polymethyl methacrylate.

In an optional embodiment of the present application, the curvature of the first lens, the curvature of the second lens, and the inclination angle of the contact surface between the second lens and the optical integration component are set based on user requirements.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an imaging system, the imaging system includes: an integrated catheter system engine, a rotary connector, and the aforementioned imaging catheter; the integrated catheter system engine, the rotary connector, and the imaging catheter are sequentially connected.

Embodiments of the present invention bring the following beneficial effects:

An embodiment of the present invention provides an imaging catheter and an imaging system. The imaging catheter includes: a driving shaft, an optical integration component, and a light exit window. The optical signal enters the optical fiber in the driving shaft from the proximal end of the catheter wall, and the optical signal propagates in the optical fiber. After the optical signal is emitted from the optical fiber, it enters the optical integrated component through a gap of about 0-2mm; The light exit window is reflected and scattered by the blood vessel wall, and the imaging catheter is used to receive the reflected and scattered light signal to generate an image based on the reflected and scattered light signal. By substituting optical integrated components for the combination of optical components made of glass in the imaging catheter, the volume of the imaging catheter can be reduced, the difficulty of assembling the imaging catheter can be reduced, and the cost of the imaging catheter can be saved.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the following description, or some of the features and advantages can be inferred or unambiguously determined from the description, or can be known by implementing the above-mentioned techniques of the present disclosure.

In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure more comprehensible, preferred embodiments will be described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the specific implementation or description of the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description The drawings show some implementations of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an imaging catheter provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an imaging catheter and an imaging system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of setting an optical fiber on a drive shaft according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a combination of optical components in an imaging catheter of the prior art provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of optical integration components in an imaging catheter provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an optical integrated component provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of an imaging catheter provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an imaging system provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

Icons: 1-imaging catheter; 2-drive shaft; 3-optical fiber; 4-proximal joint; 5-rotary connector; 6-integrated catheter system engine; 7-connector; 8-catheter wall; 10-light exit window; 11-sleeve; 12-developing ring; 100-imaging system.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. the embodiment. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

At present, in the existing imaging catheters, multiple optical components made of glass (such as Green lenses and reflective prisms) need to be arranged sequentially, so that the optical signals in the imaging catheters can be transmitted and reflected by multiple optical components, and finally exit the imaging catheters. , are reflected and scattered by the blood vessel walls of the human body. However, the combination of optical components made of glass has the disadvantages of large volume, high equipment difficulty, and high cost.

Based on this, an imaging catheter and an imaging system provided by an embodiment of the present invention can reduce the volume of the imaging catheter, reduce the difficulty of assembling the imaging catheter, and save imaging Catheter cost.

In order to facilitate the understanding of this embodiment, an imaging catheter disclosed in this embodiment of the present invention is first introduced in detail.

Embodiment one:

An embodiment of the present invention provides an imaging catheter. Referring to the schematic structural diagram of an imaging catheter shown in FIG. 1, the inner cavity of the drive shaft 2 is provided with an optical fiber, the optical integration component 9 is provided at the distal end of the catheter wall 8 of the imaging catheter 1, and the side of the distal end of the catheter wall 8 is provided with an opening as a light exit window 10.

The drive shaft extends from the proximal end of the catheter wall to the distal end of the catheter wall, and the optical signal enters the optical fiber in the drive shaft from the proximal end of the catheter wall. The optical signal propagates in the optical fiber, and the optical signal passes through about 0-2mm after being emitted from the optical fiber The gap enters the optical integration component; wherein, the drive shaft is used to drive the optical signal to rotate, so as to change the path of the optical signal propagating in the optical fiber;

The optical integration component includes a first lens and a second lens. After the optical signal enters the optical integration component, it is transmitted through the first lens and reflected by the second lens in sequence, and the optical signal is emitted from the light exit window;

The light signal emitted from the light exit window is reflected and scattered by the blood vessel wall, and the imaging catheter is used to receive the reflected and scattered light signal to generate an image based on the reflected and scattered light signal.

In this embodiment, an optical signal can be sent from an external device, and the optical signal is injected into the imaging catheter from the proximal end of the catheter wall (ie, the left side of Figure 1), since the drive shaft extends from the proximal end of the catheter wall to the distal end of the catheter wall , therefore, the optical signal can propagate in the optical fiber arranged in the drive shaft (ie the optical signal propagates from left to right in FIG. 1 ). Wherein, the driving shaft in this embodiment is rotatable, the pipeline can rotate with the rotation of the driving shaft, and the propagation path of the optical signal in the optical fiber also changes accordingly.

After the optical signal is emitted from the optical fiber, it can enter the optical integration component in the imaging catheter, and the optical integration component includes a first lens and a second lens. Therefore, the light signal can be transmitted by the first lens, reflected by the second lens in sequence, and finally exit the imaging catheter through the light exit window.

After the light signal exits the imaging catheter from the light exit window, it can be reflected and scattered by the blood vessel wall of the human body, and the reflected and scattered light can be collected by the imaging catheter, thereby completing intravascular optical coherence tomography and generating images.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an imaging catheter. The imaging catheter includes: a driving shaft, an optical integration component, and a light exit window. The optical signal enters the optical fiber in the driving shaft from the proximal end of the catheter wall, and the optical signal propagates in the optical fiber. After being emitted from the optical fiber, it enters the optical integrated component through a gap of about 0-2mm; after the optical signal enters the optical integrated component, it passes through the transmission of the first lens and the reflection of the second lens in turn, and the optical signal is emitted from the light output window; the optical signal is emitted from the light output window After being reflected and scattered by the vessel wall, the imaging catheter is used to receive the reflected and scattered light signal to generate an image based on the reflected and scattered light signal. By substituting optical integrated components for the combination of optical components made of glass in the imaging catheter, the volume of the imaging catheter can be reduced, the difficulty of assembling the imaging catheter can be reduced, and the cost of the imaging catheter can be saved.

Embodiment two:

The embodiment of the present invention provides another imaging catheter, referring to the structural diagram of the imaging catheter and imaging system shown in FIG.

As shown in Figure 2, the imaging catheter in this embodiment can be a long and thin catheter, and the left and right ends of the catheter are respectively the proximal end of the catheter wall (also called the proximal end of the catheter) and the distal end of the catheter wall. (It can also be referred to as the distal end of the catheter), the lumen of the catheter is provided with a drive shaft extending from the proximal end of the catheter to the distal end of the catheter, and an optical fiber is provided on the drive shaft.

See Figure 3 for a schematic diagram of an optical fiber installed on the drive shaft, the rotation of the optical fiber 3 can be driven by rotating the drive shaft at the proximal end of the catheter, and external equipment can emit light to the imaging catheter as an optical signal, and the imaging catheter can collect blood vessels Intravascular optical coherence tomography is accomplished by reflecting and scattering light signals from the wall.

As shown in Figure 2, the proximal end of the catheter wall 8 in this embodiment is provided with a proximal joint 4, and the proximal joint 4 is connected with the joint 7 of the external rotary connector 5; the joint of the rotary connector 5 is used for 7 to provide The torque that drives shaft 2 to rotate.

In addition, the rotary connector 5 is connected with an external integrated catheter system engine 6; the integrated catheter system engine 6 is used to send out light signals, and generate images based on reflected and scattered light signals.

The proximal end of the catheter is connected to a rotary connector through a proximal joint. The rotary connector can be understood as a relay device. The rotary connector is connected to an integrated catheter system engine. The integrated catheter system engine is used to provide the energy required for imaging and process optical signals . The rotary connector is provided with a joint matched with the proximal joint, and the joint of the rotary connector is used to provide the torque required by the drive shaft.

In addition, the catheter wall in this embodiment adopts a hollow braided tubular structure made of polymer materials. There is a light exit window on the distal side of the catheter wall, so that optical signals can be emitted from the light exit window, and can also receive blood vessels from the light exit window. Reflected and scattered light signals, thus completing coherent optical tomography.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the driving shaft in this embodiment is a hollow spring tube with a torque transmission structure, which can make the inner cavity of the driving shaft convenient for the optical fiber to pass through. The optical signal output by the optical fiber passes through the optical integrated components and exits from the light exit window.

See FIG. 4 for a schematic diagram of the combination of optical components in a prior art imaging catheter and FIG. 5 for a schematic diagram of optical integration components in an imaging catheter, wherein FIG. 4 shows the prior art imaging Catheter, and the optical path diagram of the imaging catheter in the prior art, FIG. 5 shows the imaging catheter provided in this embodiment, and the optical path diagram of the imaging catheter provided in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , the optical part of the endoscopic probe of the imaging catheter in the prior art can be realized by using a Green lens and a reflective prism. The imaging catheter provided in this embodiment adopts optical integrated components, which can replace the functions of the Green lens and the reflective prism, wherein the optical integrated components are made of optical plastic materials, and the optical plastic materials include polymethyl methacrylate (Polymethyl Methacrylate, PMAA), etc. .

Compared with the imaging catheter of the prior art, the imaging catheter provided by this embodiment has the following advantages: 1. Realize the complete replacement of functions; 2. Replace the combination of two optical components with one integrated component, reducing the difficulty of assembly; 3. Volume Can be made smaller; 4. Replacing the combination of glass optical components with optical integrated components made of optical plastic has obvious cost advantages.

In addition, the parameters in the optical integration component of this embodiment are adjustable, referring to the schematic diagram of an optical integration component shown in Figure 6, the curvature of the first lens, the curvature of the second lens, the second lens and the optical integration component The inclination angle of the contact surface is set based on the user's requirements.

This embodiment also provides a schematic diagram of a partial structure of an imaging catheter as shown in FIG. 7 . As shown in Figures 2 and 7, the imaging catheter 1 of this embodiment also includes: a sleeve 11; the sleeve 11 is arranged on the periphery of the optical integration component 9, and the sleeve 11 is used to protect the light transmission of the optical integration component 9 from outside influence. Wherein, the casing 11 can be made of materials, and the transparent materials include quartz and polymer tubes.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7 , the imaging catheter of this embodiment further includes: a developing ring 12 ; the developing ring 12 is disposed at the distal end of the imaging catheter wall 8 , and the developing ring 12 is used to position the imaging catheter 1 in the human body.

In summary, the imaging catheter provided by the embodiment of the present invention can replace the combination of optical components made of glass in the imaging catheter with optical integrated components, which can reduce the volume of the imaging catheter, reduce the difficulty of assembling the imaging catheter, and save the cost of the imaging catheter.

Embodiment three:

An embodiment of the present invention provides an imaging system, referring to a schematic structural diagram of an imaging system shown in FIG. ; The integrated catheter system engine 6, the rotary connector 5 and the imaging catheter 1 are sequentially connected.

The imaging system provided by the embodiment of the present invention has the same technical features as the imaging catheter provided by the above embodiment, so it can also solve the same technical problem and achieve the same technical effect.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described system and device can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be interpreted in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection , or integrally connected; it may be mechanically connected or electrically connected; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediary, and it may be the internal communication of two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific situations.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer" etc. The indicated orientation or positional relationship is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, or in a specific orientation. construction and operation, therefore, should not be construed as limiting the invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only specific implementations of the present invention, to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit them, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, although with reference to the foregoing examples The present invention has been described in detail, and those skilled in the art should understand that: within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, any person skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or can easily think of them Changes, or equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications, changes or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention Inside. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (10)

1. An intravascular imaging catheter, the imaging catheter comprising: a drive shaft, an optical integration component, and a light exit window; the driving shaft is arranged in the inner cavity of the imaging catheter, an optical fiber is arranged in the inner cavity of the driving shaft, the optical integrated component is arranged at the far end of the catheter wall of the catheter, and an opening is formed in the side face of the far end of the catheter wall and used as the light emitting window;

the drive shaft extends from the proximal end of the catheter wall to the distal end of the catheter wall, an optical signal enters an optical fiber in the drive shaft from the proximal end of the catheter wall, the optical signal propagates in the optical fiber, and the optical signal enters the optical integrated component through a gap after being emitted from the optical fiber; wherein the drive shaft is used for driving the optical signal to rotate so as to change the propagation path of the optical signal in the optical fiber;

the optical integration component comprises a first lens and a second lens, the optical signal enters the optical integration component and then sequentially passes through the transmission of the first lens and the reflection of the second lens, and the optical signal is emitted out of the light emitting window;

the light signal is reflected and scattered by the vessel wall after exiting the light exit window, and the imaging catheter is configured to receive the reflected and scattered light signal to generate an image based on the reflected and scattered light signal.

2. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 1 wherein a proximal end of said catheter wall is provided with a proximal connector, said proximal connector being connected to a connector of an external rotational connector; the joint of the rotary connector is used for providing torque for the rotation of the drive shaft.

3. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 2 wherein said rotary connector is coupled to an external integrated catheter system engine; the integrated catheter system engine is configured to emit the light signal and generate the image based on the reflected and scattered light signal.

4. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 1 wherein said catheter wall comprises a hollow braided tubular structure of polymeric material and said drive shaft comprises a spring tube of hollow torque transmitting structure.

5. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 1, wherein said imaging catheter further comprises: a sleeve; the sleeve is arranged at the periphery of the optical integrated component and is used for protecting the light transmission of the optical integrated component from external influence.

6. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 5 wherein said sleeve comprises a transparent material comprising quartz or a polymer tube.

7. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 1, wherein said imaging catheter further comprises: a developing ring; the developing ring is arranged at the far end of the catheter wall and is used for positioning the imaging catheter in the human body.

8. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 1 wherein said optical integration component is comprised of an optical plastic material comprising polymethyl methacrylate.

9. The intravascular imaging catheter according to claim 1 wherein the curvature of said first lens and the curvature of said second lens and the angle of inclination of the contact surface of said second lens with said optical integration component are set based on the user's needs.

10. An imaging system, the imaging system comprising: an integrated catheter system engine, rotary connector and imaging catheter of any of claims 1-9; the integrated catheter system engine, the rotary connector and the imaging catheter are connected in sequence.

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