Tongji Hospital Unveils Innovative Secondary Coupling Device for Laser Ablation Catheters to Reduce Energy Loss and Enhance Efficiency
Recently, Tongji Hospital affiliated with Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology released a public notice on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, proposing to“A Secondary Coupling Device with Adjustable Indentation for Laser Ablation Catheters”Invention Patents Priced by Agreement200,000 yuanTransferred to Wenhao (Nanjing) Technology Co., Ltd.; this transaction involves the transfer of patent ownership.
Image from the official website of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
This patent is byLiu Xin, Xu Bintao, Wang AnniR&D: The core innovation lies in achieving precise secondary coupling of laser ablation catheters through a hydraulically driven axial alignment component and a telescopic adjustment structure. This design accommodates catheters with different core diameters, reduces optical fiber energy loss, and separates the catheter into a reusable high-energy segment and a disposable treatment segment, significantly reducing medical consumable waste. It addresses the clinical pain points of traditional disposable laser ablation catheters, including high costs, low coupling precision, and significant energy attenuation, demonstrating substantial clinical application and industrialization value.
Ablation TechnologyIt is a precise, minimally invasive interventional therapy performed under the guidance of modern imaging technologies (such as ultrasound, CT, MRI, etc.), which applies chemical or physical methods directly to the lesion tissue to achieve the effect of eradicating or destroying the lesion. Among various ablation techniques,Laser AblationDue to its high precision, it has become a prominent therapeutic modality and is widely used in various diseases requiring interventional treatment.
Currently, laser ablation catheters used in clinical practice are typically designed as single-use, integrated devices. This design presents significant cost issues:The proximal end of the catheter is equipped with a specialized coupling connector for interfacing with the laser. As it is designed for single-use only and cannot be reused, each treatment incurs high costs, imposing a significant financial burden on patients and the healthcare system while resulting in resource waste. Furthermore, to ensure adequate navigability within the body, the optical fibers inside existing disposable catheters are typically designed to be relatively long and thin (with a small core diameter).This has led to serious energy transmission issues:The longer the optical fiber, the more pronounced the attenuation of the laser during transmission; furthermore, small-core fibers demand extremely high coupling precision, as even slight misalignment between the light source and the tiny core can result in significant energy loss.
There is an urgent clinical need for a solution that ensures efficient laser energy transmission while reducing usage costs.Existing monolithic disposable catheters struggle to balance these two requirements: on one hand, a small-core-diameter fiber is needed to ensure navigability through narrow anatomical structures such as blood vessels; on the other hand, the combination of a small core diameter and long optical path results in significant energy loss and difficult coupling.
Therefore, there is an urgent need in the industry for a coupling device that can separate the high-energy transmission section from the treatment section, or enable partial reuse, to address technical pain points such as significant energy loss, high costs, and excessively stringent alignment accuracy requirements.
The core innovation of this technology lies in proposing a“Retractable Secondary Coupling Device”. It breaks away from the traditional design of single-use, integrated catheters by splitting the laser ablation catheter into“High-Energy Reusable Catheters” and “Therapeutic Catheters”two parts. During optical path connection, the device utilizes a hydraulically controlled calibration assembly and an auxiliary filling section to automatically straighten and compressively secure the two inserted catheters, functioning similarly to a robotic arm. This not only ensures the straightness of the catheters, preventing core displacement caused by bending, but also addresses the difficulty of coupling traditional small-core-diameter optical fibers by accommodating therapeutic catheters with varying outer diameters.
The most significant clinical advantage of this technology is a substantial reduction in treatment costs.Due to the modular design, only the treatment catheter portion that comes into contact with the lesion needs to be discarded during surgery, while the expensive, reusable high-energy catheter (containing large-core optical fibers) can be reprocessed and reused.
Meanwhile, this technology enables the use of large-core-diameter optical fibers in reusable catheters, while ensuring that the total length of the catheter remains unchanged.Significantly improves laser transmission efficiency and reduces energy loss.Through the telescopic adjustment mechanism at the top of the device, the distance between the end faces of the two catheters can be dynamically adjusted to ensure perfect alignment of the light spot with the treatment catheter, thereby further optimizing energy delivery.
Furthermore, this technology is characterized by its intelligence and automation.As described in the instructions for use, this device can be electrically connected to the control system of an excimer laser ablation system. The system can automatically identify the model of the treatment catheter, retrieve the optimal connection parameters, and drive the motor to automatically complete catheter spacing adjustment and coupling calibration.
This automated workflow not only reduces the tedious steps of manual adjustment by physicians, but also ensures the precision and stability of each coupling, providing a highly efficient, precise, and cost-effective novel laser ablation solution for clinical practice.
Currently, laser ablation catheters have become the mainstream consumables in the field of minimally invasive interventions, with mature clinical applications and a wide range of diagnostic and treatment scenarios, resulting in stable overall market demand. Mainstream products are based onDisposable Integrated StructureAs the predominant form, it demonstrates strong performance in terms of ease of use and safety, and is widely applied in interventional treatment scenarios such as vascular lesions and arrhythmias, achieving high clinical recognition and widespread adoption. The industry as a whole is upgrading toward more efficient energy transmission, greater operational precision, and broader scenario adaptability, while there remains continuous demand for optimization and technical improvement in areas such as consumable costs, reusability, and coupling alignment accuracy.
The CardioFocus HeartLight® X3 is a disposable balloon-type laser ablation catheter designed for use with an endoscopic ablation system., classified as a Class III medical device, is primarily used for pulmonary vein isolation in the treatment of drug-refractory, symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The catheter employs infrared laser for thermal tissue ablation. Its distal ultra-compliant balloon conforms to the pulmonary vein ostia, and integrated endoscopic visualization technology enables intraoperative observation of the tissue interface. Combined with adjustable energy settings and the RAPID circular ablation mode, it can continuously and stably create ablation lesions. The device features a multi-lumen tube integrating illumination and energy-delivery fibers, paired with a rotatable laser emission unit, to meet the requirements of interventional procedures and energy delivery. It is designed as a sterile, single-use product.
In terms of market application, the system has received approval from the U.S. FDA and is utilized in arrhythmia centers across multiple countries worldwide for pulmonary vein isolation in atrial fibrillation procedures, establishing a distinctive technical pathway through visualization and laser circular ablation. In China, Grand Pharma is driving its implementation, facilitating its use in major cardiac centers via special access pathways. As an endoscopy-guided laser balloon ablation product, it offers differentiation from radiofrequency and cryoablation technologies, serving as a key solution for minimally invasive ablation therapy in atrial fibrillation.
Philips Spectranetics CVX‑300 Compatible ELCA Disposable Laser Fiber Optic Catheter, is an internationally established interventional consumable for excimer laser atherectomy of coronary and peripheral vessels. The product utilizes 308nm excimer laser technology, with optical fibers arranged around the guidewire lumen to achieve photochemical decomposition and vaporization of plaques, supporting pre-treatment of complex lesions and lumen reconstruction. The catheter is available in two configurations: Rapid Exchange (RX) and Over-the-Wire (OTW), with multiple specifications to accommodate different vessels and lesions. The proximal end features a standard laser coupling interface, and the device is sterile and intended for single use only.
In clinical practice, ELCA catheters are primarily used for complex coronary and peripheral artery lesions, including calcification, in-stent restenosis, lesions that are difficult to cross or dilate with balloons, and occlusive lesions. They can be used alone or in combination with other interventional procedures. Validated through long-term clinical use, this product has become a standard tool for managing complex lesions at major cardiac and peripheral vascular centers worldwide. Its applications span both coronary and peripheral interventions, with established unified clinical operational standards, making it a representative consumable for excimer laser coronary atherectomy technology.
This patent, bySecondary coupling, segmented multiplexing, precise axial alignment, adjustable spacingIts innovative design precisely aligns with the direction of industry upgrades and actual clinical needs. While improving coupling efficiency, reducing energy loss, and minimizing consumable waste, it offers superior catheter compatibility and clinical practicality. As minimally invasive interventional therapies continue to gain widespread adoption and demands for the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of medical consumables rise, this technology can effectively address the technical shortcomings of existing products. It possesses favorable conditions for industrialization and significant value for clinical promotion. In the future, it is poised to establish differentiated competitiveness in the field of laser ablation interventions, offering broad market application prospects.