Importance

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Abstract

A pair of vascular interventional devices, at least one of which includes a hollow, flexible tube and a dilator that is adapted for insertion into and through the tube and over a guidewire, may be utilized to treat or study a cardiovascular condition, or to measure the blood pressure across a vascular segment. The first device also includes a hub with an end port through which a second device may be introduced into and through the tube. The hub also includes a side port through which a fluid agent may be injected for delivery through the tube or through which pressures can be measured. A guidewire is inserted into a vessel of the cardiovascular system of a patient in the conventional manner. The dilator of the first device is then inserted into the tube and the dilator and tube are then inserted into the vessel over the guidewire and positioned in the target area. The dilator is then withdrawn through the tube from the cardiovascular system of the patient. A second interventional device is selected to treat or study the cardiovascular condition, and the second device is introduced through the end port of the hub of the first device. The second interventional device is advanced over the guidewire to the distal end of the tube of the first device, and the guidewire is then removed. The second interventional device is employed to treat or study the cardiovascular condition. If a pressure transducer is placed on the side port of the first device, as well as on the second device, the second device may be advanced beyond the end of the first device so that the blood pressure may be measured simultaneously at the end of the tube of the first interventional device (the first location) and at the end of the second interventional device (the second location). The difference in blood pressure, if any, between the first and second locations may then be calculated.

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First Claim