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Intravascular Radiation Detectors for the Detection of Vulnerable Atheroma

H. William Strauss, MD, FACC^_*,a,_*, Carina Mari, MD, Bradley E. Patt, PhD^,b and Vartan Ghazarossian, PhD^,a

^_* Section of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
Nuclear Medicine Program and Center for Molecular and Functional Imaging, University of California-San Francisco, UCSF, San Francisco, California
Gamma Medica Inc., Northridge, California
Imetrx Inc., Mountain View, California

View larger version (55K): [in a new window]   Figure 1 Photograph of the wire basket thermal catheter (as depicted in U.S. patent 6,763,261 by Casscells et al. [8]). Multiple thermistors are placed on the surface of the wire. The thermistors are brought in contact with the endothelium of the vessel to take the temperature of the vessel.

View larger version (123K): [in a new window]   Figure 2 (A) Diagram of radiation-sensitive intravascular catheter (as depicted in U.S. patent 6,782,289 by Strauss [16]). The lesion in the vessel is labeled "Lesion." (B) A photograph of the prototype catheter, undergoing testing with a small beta radiation source. The catheter connects to a phototube in a lightproof housing, which changes the individual light pulses to an electrical signal for display on the readout. The catheter position is determined by localizing the radio-opaque tip, which is superimposed on the coronary arteriogram. The radiation intensity is displayed as a false color signal on the arteriogram. I = catheter sheath; II = vessel wall; III = vessel lumen; IV = optical fiber (to conduct light from the scintillator); V = connection between scintillator and optical fiber; VI = plastic scintillator.

View larger version (19K): [in a new window]   Figure 3 Diagram of a multiple scintillating fiber catheter, capable of providing radial information about plaque location. The data from multiple fibers are detected simultaneously with a position sensitive photomultiplier tube (15).