1. A rotational atherectomy device for ablation of occluding material in a blood vessel having a diameter, comprising:
a catheter having an outer diameter less than the diameter of the blood vessel and a lumen therethrough and further comprising a distal end and a longitudinal axis;
a rotatable drive shaft having a lumen therethrough and rotatable and axially translatable within the lumen of the catheter; and
an ablating element attached to the distal end of the rotatable drive shaft, comprising more than one flexible finger, each flexible finger comprising a cutting edge, the cutting edge having an obtuse angle as defined by the angle of intersection of the cutting edge and a line tangent to a circle formed by the cutting edge’s tip during rotation and an external surface having a grinding surface thereon, the ablating element comprising deformed retracted position when constrained within the lumen of the catheter and an undeformed expanded position automatically achieved when the ablating element is not constrained within the lumen of the catheter, wherein the deformed retracted position comprises a symmetric profile and the undeformed expanded position comprises an asymmetric profile.
2. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, further comprising a rotating means, whereby the ablating element may be rotated to cut and to grind when rotated in one direction and grind when rotated in the opposite direction.
3. The rotational device of claim 1, further comprising the expanded asymmetric ablating element having a resting diameter and a rotating diameter, wherein the resting diameter is less than the rotating diameter.
4. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, wherein the more than one flexible finger of the ablating element comprises a shape memory alloy.
5. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, wherein the undeformed asymmetric expanded position is achieved by increasing the temperature differentially to select fingers of the ablating element.
6. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, wherein the undeformed asymmetric expanded position is achieved by decreasing the temperature differentially to select fingers of the ablating element.
7. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, wherein asymmetric undeformed expanded profile of the ablating element is achieved by differential density of the material used in one or more of the more than one fingers.
8. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, wherein the retracted position of the ablating element comprises a diameter of 6 French and the expanded position of the ablating element comprises a diameter of 9 mm.
9. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 1, further comprising a piezo device in operative communication with the ablating element, wherein actuation of the piezo device results in ablation by high-frequency vibration of the ablating element.
10. A rotational atherectomy device for ablation of occluding material in a blood vessel having a diameter, comprising:
a catheter having an outer diameter less than the diameter of the blood vessel and a lumen therethrough and further comprising a distal end and a longitudinal axis;
a rotatable drive shaft having a lumen therethrough and rotatable and axially translatable within the lumen of the catheter;
an ablating element attached to the distal end of the rotatable drive shaft, comprising more than one flexible finger, each flexible finger comprising a cutting edge having an obtuse angle defined by the angle of intersection of the cutting edge and a line tangent to a circle formed by the cutting edge’s tip during rotation and an external surface having a grinding surface thereon, the ablating element comprising deformed retracted position when constrained within the lumen of the catheter and an undeformed expanded position automatically achieved when the ablating element is not constrained within the lumen of the catheter, wherein the deformed retracted position comprises a symmetric profile and the undeformed expanded position comprises a symmetric profile; and
a rotating means, whereby the ablating element may be rotated to cut and grind when rotated in one direction and grind when rotated in the opposite direction.
11. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 10, further comprising at least part of at least one of the more than one flexible fingers manufactured from a material that is more dense than the material of the remaining fingers and wherein the ablating element comprises an undeformed expanded resting diameter and a rotating diameter, wherein the rotating diameter is greater than its resting diameter.
12. A rotational atherectomy device for ablation of occluding material in a blood vessel having a diameter, comprising:
a catheter having an outer diameter less than the diameter of the blood vessel and a lumen therethrough and further comprising a distal end and a longitudinal axis;
a rotatable drive shaft having a lumen therethrough and rotatable and axially translatable within the lumen of the catheter;
an ablating element attached to the distal end of the rotatable drive shaft, comprising more than one flexible finger, each flexible finger comprising a cutting edge having an obtuse angle as defined by the angle of intersection of the cutting edge and a line tangent to a circle formed by the cutting edge’s tip during rotation and an external surface having a grinding surface thereon; and
an actuating device having a profile and operable by an operator of the rotational atherectomy device, the ablating element further comprising an undeformed retracted position and a deformed expanded position achieved by actuation of the actuating device, the deformed expanded position comprising a profile that is in accordance with the profile of the actuating device.
13. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 12, wherein the actuating device comprises a symmetric profile and wherein the deformed expanded position of the ablating element comprises a symmetric profile.
14. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 12, wherein the actuating device comprises an asymmetric profile and wherein the deformed expanded position of the ablating element comprises an asymmetric profile.
15. The rotational atherectomy device of claim 12, wherein the actuating device comprises one of the group consisting of a symmetric wedge, an asymmetric wedge, a symmetrically inflatable balloon, and an asymmetrically inflatable balloon.
16. A method of ablating material within a lumen using the present invention may comprise:
providing a catheter having an outer diameter smaller than the lumen;
advancing the catheter through the lumen to a position proximate the occluding material;
advancing a drive shaft comprising an ablating element in a first deformed and retracted position within the catheter lumen;
urging the deformed retracted ablating element distally out of the catheter lumen and into an automatically undeformed expanded second position, wherein the fingers of ablating element comprise a cutting edge having an obtuse angle and a grinding surface;
allowing the cutting edge and the grinding surface to engage the occluding material by rotating in a first cutting and grinding direction;
allowing the grinding surface to engage the occluding material to engage the occluding material by rotating in a second grinding direction;
urging the expanded ablating element into its deformed retracted position; and
withdrawing the retracted ablating element from the lumen.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
providing a piezo device in operative communication with the ablating element;
vibrating the ablating element at high-frequency to ablate occluding material.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
applying heat to urge the deformed retracted ablating element uniformly across all fingers of the ablating element into an undeformed expanded symmetric position; and
cooling the ablating element in its undeformed expanded position to urge the ablating element into its deformed retracted position.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
applying heat to urge the deformed retracted ablating element differentially to selected fingers of the ablating element into an undeformed expanded asymmetric position; and
cooling the ablating element in its undeformed expanded position to urge the ablating element into its deformed retracted position.
20. The method of claim 16, further comprising applying electrical current uniformly to all fingers of the ablating element to urge the ablating element into its undeformed expanded and symmetric position and its deformed retracted position.
21. The method of claim 16, further comprising applying electrical current non-uniformly to all fingers of the ablating element to urge the ablating element into its undeformed expanded and asymmetric position and its deformed retracted position.
22. The method of claim 16, further comprising using a Peltier device to urge the ablating element from its undeformed expanded position into its deformed retracted position.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A card presenting high quality image properties and desirable physical characteristics, the card comprising:
a polymeric backing sheet having a backing sheet thickness;
a lens sheet having a lens sheet thickness, wherein at least a portion of a first side of the lens sheet comprises a plurality of lenses, wherein a ratio of the lens sheet thickness to the backing sheet thickness is from about 0.5 to about 6.5;
an image layer viewable through the lens sheet;
an adhesive layer interposed between the polymeric backing sheet and the lens sheet, wherein the polymeric backing sheet and the lens sheet of the resulting card are physically inseparable without at least partially destroying the polymeric backing sheet, or the lens sheet; and
a machine-readable image on a side of the polymeric backing sheet opposite the adhesive layer.
2. The card of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lenses has a pitch of about 70 to about 100 lenses per inch.
3. The card of claim 1, wherein the lenses are lenticular lenses.
4. The card of claim 1, wherein the card has an overall thickness of about ten to about forty mil.
5. The card of claim 4, wherein the overall thickness is about thirty mil plus or minus ten percent.
6. The card of claim 5, wherein the backing sheet thickness is from about four to about twenty mil.
7. The card of claim 5, wherein the lens sheet thickness is from about ten to about twenty-six mil.
8. The card of claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer comprises a radiation curable adhesive or a moisture cure adhesive.
9. The card of claim 1, wherein the polymeric backing sheet is chosen from polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester film laminated PVC, polyester film laminated polystyrene, PVC film laminated PVC, PVC laminated polystyrene, PVC film laminated polystyrene, compression laminated polystyrene, compression laminated PVC, polyester, polyolefin, polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS, acrylic, epoxy, polyurethane, and polycarbonate.
10. The card of claim 1, wherein the lens sheet material is chosen from polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET), and polyvinylchloride (PVC).
11. The card of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable image comprises a bar code or a magnetic stripe.
12. The card of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lenses comprises about ten to about seventy-five percent of the first side.
13. The card of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lenses comprises one hundred percent of the first side.
14. The card of claim 1, wherein the card has a finished trim size of about 3 \u215c inches by about 2 \u215b inches.
15. A card presenting high quality image properties and desirable physical characteristics, the card comprising:
a polymeric backing sheet having a backing sheet thickness;
a lens sheet comprising a polymeric material, wherein at least a portion of a first side of the lens sheet comprises a plurality of lenses, the plurality of lenses having a pitch of about 70 to about 100 lenses per inch;
an image layer viewable through the lens sheet; and
an adhesive layer interposed between the polymeric backing sheet and the lens sheet, wherein the polymeric backing sheet and the lens sheet of the resulting card are physically inseparable without at least partially destroying the polymeric backing sheet, or the lens sheet;
wherein the card has a total thickness of about 30 mils +\u221210%, and a finished trim size to about 3 \u215c inches by about 2 \u215b inches.
16. The card of claim 15, wherein the lenses are lenticular lenses.
17. The card of claim 15, wherein the backing sheet thickness is from about four to about twenty mil.
18. The card of claim 15, wherein the lens sheet thickness is from about ten to about twenty-six mil.
19. The card of claim 15, wherein the adhesive layer comprises a radiation curable adhesive or a moisture cure adhesive.
20. The card of claim 15, wherein the polymeric backing sheet is chosen from polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester film laminated PVC, polyester film laminated polystyrene, PVC film laminated PVC, PVC laminated polystyrene, PVC film laminated polystyrene, compression laminated polystyrene, compression laminated PVC, polyester, polyolefin, polyethylene, polypropylene, ABS, acrylic, epoxy, polyurethane, and polycarbonate.
21. The card of claim 15, wherein the lens sheet material is chosen from polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET), and polyvinylchloride (PVC).
22. The card of claim 15, wherein the machine-readable image comprises a bar code or a magnetic stripe.
23. The card of claim 15, wherein the plurality of lenses comprises about ten to about seventy-five percent of the first side.
24. The card of claim 15, wherein the plurality of lenses comprises one hundred percent of the first side.