Patent ID: 7763007

Claim:
A method of diagnosing flow conditions in a branched catheter system, the method comprising: providing an implantable branched catheter system comprising: a supply catheter section comprising a proximal end and a distal end, wherein moving from the proximal end towards the distal end defines a downstream direction within the system and wherein moving from the distal end towards the proximal end defines an upstream direction within the system; a flow detector located proximate the proximal end of the supply catheter section, wherein the flow detector detects flow through the supply catheter section; and two or more delivery branches in fluid communication with the distal end of the supply catheter section, wherein each delivery branch of the two or more delivery branches comprises a delivery catheter section comprising a proximal end and a distal end, and wherein each delivery branch of the two or more delivery branches comprises a flow restrictor located within the delivery branch, wherein the flow restrictor restricts flow through the delivery catheter section; delivering fluid into the proximal end of the supply catheter section; and monitoring the flow detector while delivering the fluid and while selectively occluding flow through one or more of the supply catheter section and the delivery catheter sections.