A guide wire configured for intravascular insertion includes a core wire having a flattened portion configured to allow the core wire to preferentially bend in at least one plane that passes through a longitudinal axis of the core wire. A distal most end of the flattened portion is spaced from a distal most end of the core wire. The guide wire may further include a sensor element configured to measure a physiological variable in a living body and a coil surrounding a portion of the core wire.

A medical system and method for density assessment utilizing ultrasound. The system includes a guidewire configured and dimensioned for insertion in the vessel of the patient, a sensor positioned at the distal portion of the elongated member and a connector connecting the elongated member to an indicator, the sensor determining the density and the indicator providing an indication of the determined density.

A sensor element comprises a sensor section comprising a sensor unit configured to measure a physiological variable or any other signal in a living body and to generate a sensor signal in response to the variable or other signal, and a bond section comprising contact members configured to electrically connect at least one signal transmitting microcable. The bond section is coated with an electrically insulating material and the sensor unit is left uncoated. The sensor element may further comprise an intermediate section between the sensor section and the bond section. The intermediate section includes electric connection lines configured to connect the contact members to the sensor unit. The intermediate section is also coated with the electrically insulating material.

A method of sensing a physiological parameter involves advancing a delivery catheter to a right atrium of a heart of a patient via a transcatheter access path, advancing the delivery catheter through an interatrial septum wall into a left atrium of the heart, deploying a distal anchor of a sensor implant device from the delivery catheter, anchoring the distal anchor of the sensor implant device to a first pulmonary vein, withdrawing the delivery catheter away from the first pulmonary vein, thereby exposing at least a portion of a sensor module of the sensor implant device in the left atrium, deploying a proximal anchor of the sensor implant device from the delivery system, anchoring the proximal anchor of the sensor implant device to a second pulmonary vein, and withdrawing the delivery catheter from the heart.

In various embodiments, a medical device includes an instrument head that includes two or more electrodes and a medical device tool, an impedance bridge selectively coupled to the two or more electrodes, and a processor coupled to the impedance bridge. In various embodiments, a method for controlling medical device tools comprises recording, at one or more frequencies, two or more impedance measurements, wherein each impedance measurement is associated with two or more electrodes included in an instrument head of a medical device; and determining, based on the two or more impedance measurements, a tissue type map at a location associated with the instrument head.

A system for determining a pulse velocity wave comprises an interface for receiving a signal indicating the proximal blood pressure in an artery and for receiving a signal indicating distal blood pressure in the artery. A processing device is configured to determine a proximal rising edge between a diastolic pressure and the systolic pressure of the proximal signal; determine a proximal pressure peak prior to the proximal rising edge; determine a distal rising edge between a diastolic pressure and a systolic pressure of the distal signal; determine a distal pressure peak prior to the distal rising edge and to determine whether the distal pressure peak is in phase advance with respect to the proximal pressure peak; and determine a propagation velocity of a regressive pulse wave depending on the phase advance of the distal pressure peak.

The present invention relates to electric components of interventional devices. In order to provide further miniaturization of medical interventional devices, an electric component (10) of an interventional device is provided. The component comprises a flat carrier base (12), at least one electric circuit (14) provided on a substrate (16) and at least one electric wire (18) connected to the electric circuit by a wire connection (20). The substrate is attached to the carrier base. Further, for the wire connection, the carrier base is provided with at least one opening (22) that is provided at least partly with a conductive edge portion (24), which edge portion is connected to the at least one electric circuit. Still further, the substrate is provided with at least one recess (26) aligned with the location of the at least one opening in the carrier base. Furthermore, an end portion of the wire is arranged in the at least one recess; and the end portion of the wire is conductively coupled to the conductive edge portion by electrically conductive material (30).

A system and apparatus comprising a multi-sensor catheter for right heart and pulmonary artery catheterization is disclosed. The multi-sensor catheter comprises multi-lumen catheter tubing into which at least three optical pressure sensors, and their respective optical fibers, are inserted. The three optical pressure sensors are arranged within a distal end portion of the catheter, spaced apart lengthwise within the distal end portion for measuring pressure concurrently at each sensor location. The sensor locations are configured for placement of at least one sensor in each of the right atrium, the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery, for concurrent measurement of pressure at each sensor location. The sensor arrangement may further comprise an optical thermo-dilution sensor, and another lumen is provided for fluid injection for thermo-dilution measurements. The catheter may comprise an inflatable balloon tip and a guidewire lumen, and preferably has an outside diameter of 6 French or less.

A system comprises first and second rotating magnetic field transmitter assemblies positioned in a planar arrangement. The first and second rotating magnetic field transmitter assemblies are each configured to generate a rotating magnetic field. In certain embodiments, the system further comprises a housing assembly and the first and second rotating magnetic field transmitter assemblies are positioned within the housing.

A tool adapted for insertion into a physiological lumen of a patient is provided. The tool includes a hub, a core extending distally from the hub, and a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. The PCB assembly includes a PCB substrate coupled to the core and an electronic component disposed on the PCB substrate and electrically coupled to the hub. The tool further includes an outer sheath disposed about each of the core and the PCB assembly. The PCB substrate may be in the form of a ring disposed at a distal end or about the core or may be a flexible PCB substrate adapted to be wrapped about the core and coupled to the core using an adhesive backing.