Patent ID: 7742795

Claim:
A method for analyzing a vessel wall of a blood vessel, the method comprising: engaging the vessel wall with an electrode array of a probe by radially expanding the probe within the blood vessel so that a plurality of electrodes of the array are circumferentially distributed within and against the vessel wall; energizing an electrode of the array with a variable frequency power source; varying a frequency of the power source; characterizing a target plaque of the vessel wall by monitoring a frequency-dependent impedance phase angle of an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit comprising the power source, the electrode of the array, and the engaged vessel wall; and selecting an eccentric subset of the array adjacent the target plaque in response to the monitored impedance phase angle, the eccentric subset comprising the electrode; remodeling the characterized target plaque by selectively energizing the subset of the array with a remodeling electrical potential so as to treat the target plaque.