Claims
- 1. A method of localizing a lesion in a body lumen, the method comprising:
providing an image of the body lumen; acquiring information about the lesion with a detecting device; and displaying the information in a spatially correct distribution relative to the image of the body lumen.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying comprises placing the information about the lesion in a substantially anatomically correct position on the image of the body lumen.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the information is not anatomical.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein acquiring comprises measuring temperature, measuring content of the lesion, or measuring radiation.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting device comprises an intravascular catheter comprising at least one detector.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein acquiring comprises moving the catheter through the body lumen at a constant speed.
- 7. The method of claim 5 further comprising determining an absolute azimuthal orientation of the catheter.
- 8. The method of claim 7 wherein determining comprises rotating the catheter about a longitudinal axis until markers are viewable under radiographic imaging.
- 9. The method of claim 5 further comprising creating a coordinate system along the body lumen to facilitate placing the information in a spatially correct distribution relative to the lumen.
- 10. The method of claim 9 wherein creating comprises using a fitting program or a tracing program.
- 11. The method of claim 5 further comprising localizing the position of the catheter with respect to the body lumen.
- 12. The method of claim 5 comprising positioning the catheter in a stationary position at a targeted region of the body lumen.
- 13. The method of claim 1 further comprising delivering a contrast medium into the body lumen, wherein obtaining the image of the body lumen comprises using an MRI system.
- 14. The method of claim 1 wherein providing comprises obtaining the image of the body lumen with an external imaging system.
- 15. The method of claim 14 wherein obtaining the image comprises:
releasing a contrast medium into the body lumen during transit of the detecting device to the target site to create an opacified body lumen; and imaging the opacified body lumen.
- 16. The method of claim 14 wherein obtaining the image of the body lumen comprises using one of a fluoroscopic imaging system or a CT system.
- 17. The method of claim 14 wherein obtaining the image of the body lumen comprises using an MRI system.
- 18. The method of claim 1 or 14 further comprising storing images of the body lumen in a computer memory.
- 19. The method of claim 18 further comprising combining a plurality of stored images of the body lumen to create the image.
- 20. The method of claim 1 further comprising marking the lesion in the body lumen with a marker that can be sensed by the detecting device.
- 21. The method of claim 20 wherein marking comprises binding a radiopharmaceutical to the lesion in the body lumen.
- 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the lesion is vulnerable plaque.
- 23. The method of claim 21 wherein acquiring information comprises measuring a count activity of the marked lesion.
- 24. The method of claim 1 or 23 further comprising adding standard deviation marks on the anatomic image to highlight a certainty level of the information.
- 25. The method of claim 23 wherein displaying comprises expressing the count activity.
- 26. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying comprises adding histogram bars onto the image.
- 27. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying comprises varying a brightness intensity along the lumen to indicate a severity of the lesion.
- 28. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying comprises providing azimuthal distribution information about the lesion.
- 29. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying comprises indicating distribution of the marker in the lesion.
- 30. The method of claim 1 wherein acquiring comprises taking readings only at a specific point in a patient's electrocardiogram cycle.
- 31. The method of claim 1 further comprising compensating for a patient's heartbeat and breathing during displaying.
- 32. The method of claim 1 wherein acquiring comprises taking a plurality of readings with the detecting device through a patient's electrocardiogram cycle and selecting data from only a portion of the cardiac cycle for display purposes.
- 33. The method of claim 1 further comprising tracking a patient's rigid movements.
- 34. The method of claim 33 wherein tracking comprises placing markers on at least one of a patient's body and a platform beneath the patient's body.
- 35. A method of characterizing a vulnerable plaque lesion in a body lumen, the method comprising:
externally imaging the body lumen to obtain an anatomic image of the body lumen; placing detector(s) in the body lumen to distinguish vulnerable plaque from stable lesions; and displaying the vulnerable plaque information on the anatomic image.
- 36. The method of claim 35 further comprising generating a coordinate system of the body lumen to orient the count activity information onto the anatomic image of the body lumen.
- 37. The method of claim 36 wherein generating is carried out with a tracing algorithm.
- 38. The method of claim 36 wherein generating is carried out with a fitting program.
- 39. The method of claim 35 wherein placing comprises moving a catheter having the detector(s) through the body lumen.
- 40. The method of claim 35 further comprising tracking the longitudinal positioning and azimuthal orientation of the detector(s).
- 41. The method of claim 35 wherein displaying comprises showing at least azimuthal distribution of the vulnerable plaque and a longitudinal position of the vulnerable plaque.
- 42. The method of claim 35 wherein displaying comprises providing bar histograms representing the amount of plaque by the length of the bars.
- 43. The method of claim 35 wherein displaying comprises providing a line having a color to indicate the amount of plaque.
- 44. The method of claim 35 wherein displaying comprises providing standard deviation marks.
- 45. A method of displaying information about a lesion in a body lumen, the method comprising:
providing an anatomic image of the body lumen with an image capture apparatus; acquiring azimuthal distribution information about the lesion with a detecting device; and displaying the azimuthal distribution information with the anatomic image of the body lumen.
- 46. The method of claim 45 wherein providing comprises externally imaging the body lumen to obtain the anatomic image.
- 47. The method of claim 46 wherein the detecting device comprises a catheter having detectors.
- 48. The method of claim 47 wherein the detectors detect one of radiolabel marker counts, temperature levels, MRI parameters, x-ray density, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic or iodinated contrast agents, ultrasound signal, infrared, or optical signature.
- 49. The method of claim 45 wherein displaying comprises superimposing the azimuthal distribution information over the anatomic image of the body lumen.
- 50. A system for localizing lesions in a body lumen, the system comprising:
a catheter body comprising a proximal and distal portion; at least one detector that can obtain information about the lesion; a plurality of markers positioned on the distal portion of the catheter that allow a user to track the azimuthal orientation of the distal portion of the catheter body; and a computer that superimposes the information obtained by the detector on an anatomic image of the body lumen.
- 51. The system of claim 50 further comprising imaging means for obtaining the anatomic image of the body lumen, said imaging means being coupled to the computer.
- 52. The system of claim 50 wherein the markers comprise a magnetic marker.
- 53. The system of claim 50 wherein the markers comprises tantalum, gold, or platinum.
- 54. The system of claim 50 wherein the markers have a shape such that their azimuthal orientation can be obtained in a radiographic image.
- 55. The system of claim 50 wherein the information comprises at least one of a count activity, azimuthal position of the marked lesion in the body lumen, and longitudinal position of the marked lesion in the body lumen.
- 56. The system of claim 50 wherein the computer is programmed to position the information in an anatomically correct position on the anatomic image of the body lumen.
- 57. The system of claim 50 further comprising a display for displaying the information and anatomic image of the body lumen.
- 58. A system for displaying an anatomic image of a body lumen, the system comprising:
an imaging device that can acquire an anatomic image of the body lumen; a detecting device to obtain information of a marked lesion in the body lumen; and a computer configured to store the anatomic image(s) of the body lumen, wherein the computer receives the information from the detecting device and displays the information on the stored anatomic image.
- 59. The system of claim 58 wherein the detecting device comprises an intravascular catheter comprising at least one radiation detector.
- 60. The system of claim 59 wherein the catheter comprises a plurality of markers disposed in a spaced relationship on the catheter.
- 61. The system of claim 58 wherein the anatomic image is an angiographic image.
- 62. A system for localizing lesions in a body lumen, the system comprising:
imaging means for obtaining an image of the body lumen; detecting means for characterizing the lesion in the body lumen; and means for storing the image of the body lumen and superimposing information about the lesion onto the image of the body lumen.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is related to patent application Ser. No. 09/670,412, filed Sep. 26, 2000, entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Characterizing Lesions in Blood Vessels and Other Body Lumens,” patent application Ser. No. 09/754,103 filed Jan. 3, 2001, entitled “Intravascular Imaging Catheter,” patent application Ser. No. 09/754,074, filed Jan. 3, 2001, entitled “Position Sensitive Imaging Catheter,” and patent application Ser. No. 09/754,822, filed Jan. 3, 2001, entitled “Position Sensitive Imaging Catheter Having Scintillation Detector,” the complete disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.