Devices And Methods For Guide Wire Placement

Abstract

A guide wire that has an atraumatic and flexible loop that expands within a vessel, with indicators that indicate the degree of expansion. The indicators are used to determine the degree of expansion through the use of radio-opaque markers, hydraulic, and electrical signals. The guide wire enables safe passage into target vessels while providing user feedback on inadvertent passage into side branches and diseased segments.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62 / 881,252 filed Jul. 31, 2019 entitled Device For Safe Guide Wire Placement, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to devices and methods to facilitate placement of a guide wire. More specifically, the invention relates to devices and methods to place a guide wire within a vascular structure with or without the use of adjunctive imaging methods such as fluoroscopy or similar equipment.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]For percutaneous medical procedures, there is a need to place devices, tools, or similar equipment into one or more blood vessels with the use of needles and wires. These techniques require direct insertion of the needle through the skin into the blood vessel, with or without imaging guidance (e.g. ultrasound, fluoroscopy, etc.), followed by passage of a guide wire into th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a system and method for safely placing a guide wire in a blood vessel to minimize risk and harm to the patient. It provides visual, tactile and spatial feedback to the operator to enable the safe passage of the guide wire. The invention reduces the need for visualization systems and reduces the time needed to place the guide wire, improving the efficiency of the procedure. It also enables better judgment on device position in the body and reduces the likelihood of injury from the device. The invention has multiple stiffness characteristics throughout its length, adjustable by the user, which enhances the user's ability to advance the wire without prolapse and provide external indication of the status or position of the apparatus. The resistance of an applied current between various locations on the device can be used to measure the diameter of the vessel, or the apparatus can incorporate ultrasound for better observation of blood vessels and better observation of guidewire position.

Problems solved by technology

When the guidewire is placed in such unintended areas, bodily injury may occur, either from the guidewire placement itself, or from subsequent placement of sheaths, devices, or tools that rely on directionality of the guide wire for accurate positioning.

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