Patent ID: 7273056

Claim:
An optical guidance system for directing the placement of an optically-guided catheter within a body cavity or lumen of a patient, the system comprising: an optically-guided catheter having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen; an optical fiber component of the catheter and extending to a distal end of the catheter; a light-emitting region at the distal end of the optical fiber component of the catheter, wherein light is provided to the light-emitting region from a light source when the catheter is placed within the body cavity or lumen of the patient, and the emitted light passes through the patient's tissue to the outside of the patient's body; and an external detection device further comprising a filter to block light in wavelength ranges outside of a range of wavelengths of light emitted by the light source, whereby light emitted to the outside of the patient's body from the light-emitting region is detected to assist an operator in determining the location of the distal end of the catheter within the patient's body, thereby indicating the distal end of the catheter within the body cavity or lumen of the patient.