Patent ID: 8016814

Claim:
A method for delivering a diagnostic or therapeutic treatment, substance or device to a myocardial infarct zone located within the myocardium of the heart of a human or animal subject, said method comprising the steps of: (A) obtaining or providing an elongate optical device having a single elongate shaft through which a lumen, a light transmitting fiber and a reflected light return fiber extend, said optical device being usable for optical determination of a tissue variable that distinguishes the myocardial infarct zone from other areas of the myocardium and the chambers of the heart; (B) obtaining or providing a tissue penetrating catheter device comprising i) a catheter shaft that is positionable in a blood vessel lumen within the subject's body, ii) a penetrator that consists of a single elongate penetrator shaft advanceable in a lateral direction from the catheter shaft to a location outside of the blood vessel lumen in which the catheter shaft is positioned and iii) an orientation indicator useable for predicting the lateral direction in which the single elongate penetrator shaft will subsequently advance, said penetrator having a lumen with a distal opening through which the single elongate shaft of the optical device is advanceable; (C) positioning the tissue penetrating catheter device within a blood vessel lumen and using the orientation indicator to adjust the rotational orientation of the catheter shaft within the blood vessel lumen as needed to increase the likelihood that the penetrator will subsequently advance in the direction of the myocardial infarct zone; (D) advancing the penetrator laterally from the catheter shaft to a position outside the blood vessel lumen in which the tissue penetrating catheter device is positioned, thereby creating a single penetration tract; (E) advancing the single shaft of the elongate optical device through the lumen of the penetrator, out of the distal opening and through tissue in the direction of the myocardial infarct zone, thereby forming a further single penetration tract beyond a distal end of the penetrator; (F) delivering light through the light transmitting fiber and using reflected light received from the reflected light return fiber while advancing the optical device to measure said tissue variable and if the measured variable indicates that the device has entered a chamber of the heart, withdrawing the device back into the myocardium; (G) determining when said tissue variable indicates that the elongate optical device is within the myocardial infarct zone; and (H) delivering a diagnostic or therapeutic modality, substance or device through the lumen of the elongate optical device and into the myocardial infarct zone.