Patent ID: 8657811

Claim:
An intravascular apparatus for obtaining visible images of an interior of a blood vessel, comprising: (A) a catheter configured to be inserted into the blood vessel, the catheter comprising: (i) a first light transmitting fiber that includes a first light irradiation section and that is connected to a first light source, which generates a pulsed first light and which transmits the pulsed first light via the first light transmitting fiber to the first light irradiation section, wherein the pulsed first light irradiates into the blood vessel to generate bubbles within the blood vessel; (ii) a second light transmitting fiber that includes a second irradiation section and that is connected to a second light source, which generates a visible second light and which transmits the visible second light via the second light transmitting fiber to the second light irradiation section, wherein the visible second light irradiates into the blood vessel to illuminate the interior of the blood vessel to enable optical observation during generation of the bubbles; and (iii) an image guide that includes an observation section and is connected to an imaging device configured to obtain images of the interior of the blood vessel; and (B) a delay generator, connected to the first light source and the second light source, that is configured to receive a signal from an electrocardiograph or a pressure sensor, wherein said signal correlates with pulsating blood flow within the blood vessel, such that, when the pulsating blood flow decreases, the delay generator (a) triggers the first light source to irradiate the pulsed first light and (b) triggers the second light source to irradiate the visible second light several tens of μs to several hundreds of μs after the first light source is triggered.