Claims
- 1. A method to detect sealing of a puncture in a blood vessel wall by a seal inside a blood vessel, comprising:
(a) providing an introducer assembly having a distal end and a proximal end and a fluid path between the distal end and the proximal end; (b) placing the introducer assembly such that the distal end of the introducer assembly is in tissue outside a puncture in a blood vessel wall; (c) placing a seal inside the blood vessel; and (d) determining whether the puncture is sealed by said seal by observing a characteristic of blood at the proximal end of the introducer assembly.
- 2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes:
visually observing a flow of blood at the proximal end of the introducer assembly.
- 3. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes
measuring blood pressure at the proximal end of the introducer assembly with a pressure sensor and outputting an indication of measured blood pressure.
- 4. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes
measuring blood pressure at the proximal end of the introducer assembly with a pressure sensor and displaying a numerical indication of measured blood pressure.
- 5. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein step (c) includes
measuring blood pressure at the proximal end of the introducer assembly with a pressure sensor; and displaying a blood pressure waveform on a display.
- 6. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:
after step (d), placing a seal outside the blood vessel.
- 7. A system to detect sealing of a puncture in a blood vessel wall by a seal inside the blood vessel, comprising:
an introducer assembly having a distal end and a proximal end and a fluid path between the distal end and the proximal end, the introducer assembly arranged such that the distal end of the introducer assembly is in tissue outside a puncture in a blood vessel wall; and an assembly to observe a characteristic of blood at the proximal end of the introducer assembly to determine whether the puncture is sealed by said seal inside the blood vessel.
- 8. A system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
an output port, in communication with said fluid path, to visually observe a flow of blood from said fluid path.
- 9. A system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
a pressure sensor, connected to the proximal end of the introducer assembly; and a display to display an indication of blood pressure measured by the pressure sensor.
- 10. A system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
a pressure sensor, connected to the proximal end of the introducer assembly; and a display to display a numerical indication of blood pressure measured by the pressure sensor.
- 11. A system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:
a pressure sensor connected to the proximal end of the introducer assembly; and a display, which receives signals from the pressure sensor, to display a blood pressure waveform.
- 12. A method to detect the position of a distal end of an introducer assembly in tissue containing a blood vessel, comprising:
(a) providing an introducer assembly having a distal end and a proximal end and a fluid path between the distal end and the proximal end; (b) providing a pressure sensor to measure blood pressure at the proximal end of the introducer assembly; (c) positioning the introducer assembly such that the distal end of the introducer assembly is in tissue containing a blood vessel; and (d) measuring the blood pressure at the proximal end of the introducer assembly using the pressure sensor and outputting said blood pressure as an indication of the position of the distal end of the introducer assembly.
- 13. A method as set forth in claim 12, wherein step (d) includes displaying a blood pressure waveform on a display.
- 14. A system to detect the position of a distal end of an introducer assembly in tissue containing a blood vessel, comprising:
(a) an introducer assembly having a distal end and a proximal end and a fluid path between the distal end and the proximal end; and (b) a pressure sensor, coupled to the proximal end of the introducer assembly, to measure blood pressure and output an indication of blood pressure at the distal end of the introducer assembly.
- 15. A system as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:
a display to display a waveform of blood pressure measured by the pressure sensor.
- 16. A system as set forth in claim 14 wherein the introducer assembly comprises a core pin with a channel as said fluid path.
- 17. A system as set forth in claim 14 wherein the introducer assembly comprises:
an introducer with a side hole at a distal end of the introducer; and a core pin, insertable into the introducer, with a channel as said fluid path, the channel being in communication with the side hole of the introducer when the core pin is inserted into the introducer.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] The Applicants hereby claim the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/260,895, filed Jan. 12, 2001. The entire contents of this provisional application are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60260895 |
Jan 2001 |
US |