Patent ID: 9592008
Date: 2017-03-14
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F,A61M

Claim:
1. A method of redirecting airflow through a lung airway, the method comprising: assessing multiple portions of a lung to determine whether one or more of the portions have collateral ventilation channels between them; choosing the lung airway from among multiple airways based on the; advancing an elongate airway measuring device through a channel in a bronchoscope, wherein said measuring device comprises a proximal end, a distal end, a longitudinal axis, an elongate body extending along the longitudinal axis between the proximal end and the distal end, and a first and second fixed length flexible sizing elements disposed near the distal end of the measuring device and extending approximately orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis of the measuring device, wherein the first fixed length flexible sizing element has a first fixed height and the second fixed length flexible sizing element has a second fixed height, and wherein the first and second fixed length flexible sizing elements have different heights from one another; collapsing the first and second fixed length flexible sizing elements along a side of said measuring device during the advancement through the channel of the bronchoscope; expanding the first and second fixed length flexible sizing elements once they are exposed within the chosen lung airway; confirming the size of an airway closing device is correct for the lung airway, wherein confirming comprises observing, using the bronchoscope, the first fixed length flexible sizing element in relation to a wall forming the lung airway and the second fixed length flexible sizing element in relation to the wall forming the lung airway; selecting a characteristic of treatment based on the observation of the first and second fixed length flexible sizing elements; and introducing into the lung airway the airway closing device having a proximal end, a distal end, and an airway closing mechanism at or near the distal end of the airway closing device, wherein the height of the first fixed length flexible sizing element is configured to correspond to a minimum diameter of the airway closing device and the second fixed length flexible sizing element is configured to correspond to a maximum diameter of the airway closing device; wherein the first fixed length flexible sizing element comprises two fixed length flexible tabs disposed approximately opposite one another across the longitudinal axis of the measuring device and extending approximately orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis, and wherein the second fixed length flexible sizing element comprises two fixed length flexible tabs disposed approximately opposite one another across the longitudinal axis of the measuring device and extending approximately orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis; wherein each orthogonally extending fixed length flexible tab has a single attachment to the elongate body.