There is described a pressure guidewire. It comprises a sensor housing and a sensor assembly embedded in the sensor housing and comprising a pressure sensor. There is a band to support the pressure sensor assembly, the band being embedded inside the sensor housing and fixed to the pressure sensor assembly for holding the pressure sensor inside the sensor housing.

The present document describes a pressure guidewire. It comprises a shaft tube having a proximal section configured to provide pushability to the pressure guidewire; a middle section extending distally relative to the proximal section, the middle section comprising a cut pattern configured to provide greater flexibility in the middle section than the proximal section; and a sensor housing section extending distally relative to the middle section. The pressure guidewire further comprises an inner hypotube comprising a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, the inner hypotube positioned entirely radially inward of the shaft tube and within at least the middle section, the proximal end portion and the distal end portion of the inner hypotube being joined to the shaft tube; and a tip pressure sensor positioned in the sensor housing section.

A system for treating atrial dysfunction, including heart failure and/or atrial fibrillation, that includes one or more pressurizing elements and control circuitry. The one or more pressurizing elements can comprise one or more balloons and can be configured to be positioned in the left atrium, and optionally the pulmonary artery, of a patient's heart. The one or more pressurizing elements can be coupled to one or more positioning structures that can be configured to position the one or more pressurizing elements in the left atrium, and optionally the pulmonary artery. The control circuitry can be configured to operate the one or more pressurizing elements to decrease or increase pressure and/or volume in the left atrium, and optionally the pulmonary artery, in accordance with different phases of the cardiac cycle. The control circuitry can be further configured to operate the one or more pressurizing elements to generate coordinated pressure modifications in the left atrium, and optionally the pulmonary artery.

Methods and sensor delivery devices for monitoring a fluid pressure within a vascular structure, the devices including an elongated sheath sized for sliding along a guidewire, a sensor assembly including a fiber optic sensor, a housing surrounding the sensor, a first cavity between the distal end of the sensor and a distal aperture of the housing, a filler extending from at least the distal end of the housing distally and tapering inward toward the outer surface of the sheath, a second cavity in the filler with an opening at the outer surface of the filler and adjoining the distal aperture of the housing, and an optical fiber. The sensor delivery device may also include an outer layer that partially covers the second cavity with an aperture over the opening of the second cavity.

A system (1) and apparatus comprising a multisensor guidewire (100/200/300) for use in interventional cardiology, e.g., Transcatheter Valve Therapies (TVT), comprises a plurality of optical sensors (10/20) for direct measurement of cardiovascular parameters, e.g. transvalvular blood pressure gradients and flow. A conventional outer coil wire (35) contains a shaped core wire (31) having a cross-section defining a channel surface (132), e.g. grooves (32), extending along its length, to position optical fibers (11) and optical sensors (10/20) in a channel (33). Advantageously, the core wire has a diameter that provides sufficient stiffness to the guidewire for use as a support guidewire for TVT, e.g. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), while accommodating multiple sensors and fibers within a guidewire of outside diameter 0.89 mm. An optical connector (112) couples the guidewire to a control system (150). Optionally, the guidewire includes a contact force sensor (60), a pre-formed tip (400-1/400-2) and a separable micro-connector (140).

Pressure sensing guidewires are disclosed. The pressure sensing guidewires may include a tubular member having a proximal portion and a distal portion. The distal portion may have a plurality of slots formed therein. The distal portion may have a first wall thickness along a first region and a second wall thickness smaller than the first wall thickness along a second region. A pressure sensor may be disposed within the distal portion of the tubular member and housed within the second region. An anti-thrombogenic coating may be disposed on an inner surface, an outer surface, or both of the second region of the distal portion of the tubular member.

The invention relates to catheters and apparatuses for combined imaging and obtaining pressure measurement in a vessel having a stenosis. The imaging can be an optical imaging technology or ultrasound imaging. The apparatus can include a combined probe comprising an imaging channel and a pressure measurement channel, and a signal processor in communication with the imaging channel and the pressure measurement channel.

The present document describes a pressure guidewire. It comprises a shaft tube having a proximal section and a sensor housing having a distal end, the proximal section and the sensor housing being the continuity of the same shaft tube. A fiber optic pressure sensor is embedded in the sensor housing and comprises an optical fiber extending within the sensor housing, the sensor adapted to measure a pressure of a fluid which is substantially applied in an axis collinear with the longitudinal axis of the guidewire. A marker band, to help in localizing the pressure guidewire in a patient's vessels, is embedded inside the sensor housing and fixed to the optical fiber for holding the pressure sensor inside the sensor housing.

Methods for diagnosing and/or treating a multi-lesion intravascular region are disclosed. The methods may include advancing a pressure sensing device to a first position that is distal of a first lesion and that is distal of a second lesion, proximally retracting the pressure sensing device to a second position that is proximal of the first lesion and that is proximal of the second lesion, calculating a first estimated post-treatment fractional flow reserve based on treatment of the first lesion, calculating a second estimated post-treatment fractional flow reserve based on treatment of the second lesion, and treating the first lesion, the second lesion, or both based on the first estimated post-treatment fractional flow reserve and the second estimated post-treatment fractional flow reserve.

The disclosure includes an apparatus including an elongated assembly, at least a portion of which is sized, shaped, or otherwise configured to be inserted into a human body to measure a physiological parameter at an internal location within the body. The elongated assembly includes an elongated member having a first length and an outer surface, a coil disposed about at least a portion of the elongated member, the coil having a second length, and at least one stand-off member positioned between the outer surface of the elongated member and the coil, where the at least one member is configured to prevent the coil from contacting an optical fiber positioned between the elongated member and the coil.