Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Contract Manufacturing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Suppliers
    • The Big 100
      • Archive – The Big 100 (2018)
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • Leadership
    • Women in Medtech
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners

This cardiac catheter uses light and ultrasound to measure plaques

October 4, 2017 By Danielle Kirsh

ultrasound catheter

[Image from Marcu Lab/UC Davis]

Researchers at the University of California at Davis combined ultrasound with light into a catheter probe to view the tiny arteries of the heart.

The device uses intravascular ultrasound and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) to retrieve structural and biochemical information about plaque in the arteries to help predict heart attacks more reliably, according to the researchers.

Currently, doctors use angioplasty to view blood vessels in constricted regions. A contrasting agent has to be injected to be able to view the vessels in an X-ray, but sometimes an angioplasty could miss dangerous plaque buildup because plaque doesn’t always cause constricted vessels. Intravascular ultrasound is able to see through the plaque buildup to determine the depth of vessels to help prevent heart attacks.

Heart attacks occur when blood flow bringing oxygen to the heart is drastically reduced or cut off completely, according to the American Heart Association. Blood flow is generally reduced because the arteries that carry blood narrow from plaque build up. If the plaque breaks in the artery, it could cause a blood clot which can block blood flow through the heart. About every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. will suffer a heart attack.

Laura Marcu and her team of researchers designed the device with an optical fiber inside the catheter to send short laser pulses into tissues. The laser pulses cause surrounding tissue to fluoresce with small flashes of light. Each type of tissue emits different amounts of fluorescence. Simultaneously, an ultrasound probe within the catheter is able to record structural information about the vessels.

The catheter is flexible enough that it can access coronary arteries in humans during standard procedures and does not need injected fluorescent tracers or special modifications of the catheterization procedure.

So far, the catheter has been tested in living pig hearts and human coronary artery samples.

The researchers suggest that the technique could improve the understanding of how plaque ruptures to cause blood clots, as well as helping treat patients who have heart disease.

Marcu and her team are currently working on getting FDA approval to test the intravascular technology in human patients.

The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

(See the best minds in medtech live at DeviceTalks West, Dec. 11–12 in Orange County, Calif.)

You may also like:

  • bandaged arm
    10 innovative diagnostic tests to combat diseases
  • cardiology breakthroughs
    9 cardiology breakthroughs you need to know

Related Articles Read More >

catheter-recalls-2020
The worst catheter-based device recalls of 2020
Smart urinary catheter company moves to Minneapolis, changes its name to UroDev
FDA: Penumbra recall of some Jet 7 catheters is serious
Medtronic touts recently acquired Rist catheters for neurovascular procedures

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Tweets by MedTechDaily

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • MedTech 100
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe to Enewsletter
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our Device Talks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2021 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Contract Manufacturing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Suppliers
    • The Big 100
      • Archive – The Big 100 (2018)
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • Leadership
    • Women in Medtech
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners