Optical Thermal Mapping Catheter for Vulnerable Plaque

描述(由申请人提供)： 心血管事件在很大程度上仍然不可预测。然而，近年来，炎症被认为与易损斑块的形成和发展有关。据观察，易损斑块沉积物的炎性坏死核心比周围组织高出几度到几度。MSI建议开发一种用于实时监测血管壁温度的光学热成像导管(OTMC)，具有高灵敏度、准确性和易用性。这项技术是基于超细光纤，用来自最先进的光纤通信的光纤光栅进行编码。光纤光栅反射特定带宽的光，可以作为高性能的光学温度传感器。反射的带宽非常窄。光纤周围微小的温度变化会改变有效折射率，并导致反射波长的调制。提出的OTMC，将多根光纤合并到一个篮式导管中，可以同时绘制原位热分布图。 第一阶段的工作将集中在设计和制造光纤光栅，构建内置光纤的篮形导管，集成光电子学，然后测试和表征系统的性能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cardiovascular events remain largely unpredictable. However, recently, inflammation has been recognized as being associated with the formation and progression of vulnerable plaque. It has been observed that the inflamed necrotic core of a vulnerable plaque deposit, is a fraction of a degree to a few degrees higher than the surrounding tissue. MSI proposes to develop an optical thermal mapping catheter (OTMC) for real-time temperature monitoring of a vessel wall, with high sensitivity, accuracy, and ease of use. The technology is based on ultra thin optical fibers, encoded with optical gratings derived from state-of-the-art optical fiber communication. Fiber gratings reflect light of particular bandwidths and can act as high-performance optical thermal sensors. The reflected bandwidths are extremely narrow. A minute temperature change around the fibers, changes the effective refractive index, and leads to modulation of reflective wavelengths. The proposed OTMC, incorporates multiple optical fibers into a basket catheter that can simultaneously map thermal distribution in-situ. Phase I work will focus on the design & fabrication fiber gratings, constructing a basket catheter with built-in optical fibers, integration of the optoelectronics, followed by the testing and characterization of the system's performance.