Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for sensing in vivo the fluid pressure differential between spaced locations in a biological fluid vessel using a single pressure transducer. The transducer has a deformable member mounted to a housing; a conduit extends within the housing with one end opening at a location spaced from the transducer and the other end opening adjoining the inner surface of the member. With the housing inserted in the biological fluid vessel, the outer surface of the deformable member is exposed to the fluid pressure adjacent the member, while the inner surface is exposed to the fluid pressure within the conduit. The deformable member flexes in response to the fluid pressure differential across the member, which is a direct measure of the fluid pressure differential between spaced-apart locations in the fluid-filled vessel. Strain gauges are mounted to the member to generate a signal indicative of the pressure differential, with electrical leads coupled to the strain gauges and received in a catheter threaded in the vessel. In a preferred embodiment, the transducer is mounted proximal to an angioplasty balloon and the conduit opens distal to the balloon. This arrangement can give a pressure differential across a lesion with the balloon positioned adjacent the lesion in the coronary arterial tree. This pressure differential apparatus is not only reliable, durable, and accurate, but also permits reduced catheter size and profile facilitating insertion and manipulation in blood vessels.

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