Patent ID: 11877761
Assignee: NEXTERN INNOVATION, LLC
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A balloon catheter comprising:
an elongated carrier;
a flexible balloon disposed near a distal end of the elongated catheter, wherein a distal end of the angioplasty balloon is sealed against the elongated catheter, the angioplasty balloon defining an interior region;
a fluid channel in fluid communication with the interior region of the angioplasty balloon and a conductive fluid reservoir, configured to inflate the balloon with the conductive fluid;
a proximal electrode disposed along the elongated carrier and a distal electrode disposed along the elongated carrier and spaced an axial distance from the proximal electrode, the axial distance therebetween comprising a spark gap;
a pulse generator in electrical communication with the proximal electrode and the distal electrode; and
a processor operatively connected to the pulse generator and comprising programmed instructions configured to control and operate the pulse generator, the processor in operative communication with a voltage monitor and a current monitor,
wherein application of voltage pulse with an applied voltage magnitude from the pulse generator to one of the proximal electrode and the distal electrode is configured to generate current flow and an electrical arc through the conductive fluid across the spark gap,
wherein the voltage monitor is configured to monitor the voltage applied to one of the proximal electrode and distal electrode,
wherein the current monitor is configured to monitor the current flowing across the spark gap, and
wherein the processor is configured to determine the magnitude of voltage to be applied as the next voltage pulse based on the monitored voltage and the monitored current.