Patent ID: 7004911

Claim:
An optical thermal basket catheter system for monitoring temperature of a vessel wall of a patient comprising: a. an elongate catheter sheath having a lumen, a distal sheath end, and a proximal sheath end; b. a plurality of optical fibers deployably disposed within the lumen of said catheter sheath, each fiber having a distal fiber portion, a distal fiber end and a proximal fiber end, wherein said plurality of distal fiber portions is suitably expandable in an outwardly radial manner forming a basket shape and contacting at least a portion of the vessel wall, each fiber having at least one optical grating along an axis of the fiber; and c. a light source having a light beam, wherein the light beam is coupled into said plurality of optical fibers, wherein said at least one optical grating reflects a certain wavelength or intensity of said light beam, said certain wavelength or intensity of the reflected light beam being correlated to the temperature of said portion of the vessel wall.