Evaluation of a prototype steerable angioscopic laser catheter in a canine model: a feasibility study

To overcome some of the persisting technical problems related to laser angioplasty, a new catheter was designed and investigated in a canine model. This 5F catheter contained a deflectable tip for steerability, an angioscope, and a laser fiber. Catheter steerability, angioscopic function, and the effects of a 480 nm flash lamp pumped pulsed dye laser on normal canine vessel walls were evaluated. Steering, angioscopic guidance, and application of laser energy were easy and fast to perform in a bloodless vessel segment. Maintaining a condition of bloodlessness at the target site, critical to angioscopic guidance, proved to be the most difficult part in this prototype evaluation. It was noted that the 480 nm pulsed dye laser did not cause macroscopic alterations or perforations to the normal vessel wall. We conclude that a relatively simple deflection mechanism of a small-caliber angioscope provides the kind of aiming ability requisite for precise endovascular therapy. Complete bloodlessness of the area is necessary for both viewing and laser ablation at 480 nm.