Patent attributes
A catheter assembly for sensing the temperature of an arterial wall or other body lumen includes a blood-flow-occluding feature to increase the accuracy the temperature measurements. In addition to the flow-occluding feature, the catheter includes a distal end with a temperature sensing structure and a proximal end including a manually operated expansion control. The temperature sensing structure includes one or more presentation elements in the form of a basket or braided structure having at least one temperature sensor supported thereon, each sensor being operative to generate an electrical signal indicative of temperature. In the preferred embodiment, the feature to occlude blood flow is an inflatable balloon disposed near the expandable basket or braid structure. The temperature sensors are preferably thermistors, and an elastic sleeve covering the expandable basket or braid structure is also preferably provided to further insulate the temperature sensors from the cooling effects of blood flow.
