INTRAVESICAL LASER CATHETER AND MONITORING SYSTEM

BLADDER CANCER IS A SIGNIFICANT CAUSE OF MORBIDITY AND DEATH. WHOLE BLADDER PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY (WBPDT) PROVIDES AN ATTRACTIVE METHOD TO TREAT BLADDER CANCER BECAUSE IT MAY BE USED TO ERADICATE THE MICROSCOPIC PREMALIGNANT LESIONS THAT CAUSE BLADDER CANCER; BECAUSE THE MOST DEADLY FORM OF BLADDER CANCER, CARCINOMA IN SITU, IS UNIFORMLY SENSITIVE TO PDT; AND BECAUSE IT HAS NO SYSTEMIC SIDE EFFECTS. UNFORTUNATELY, PRESENT-DAY METHODS OF PHOTOIRRADIATING THE BLADDER WALL ARE CUMBERSOME, TIME CONSUMING, AND INACCURATE. PHOTORADIATION SYSTEMS' INTRAVESICAL LASER CATHETER AND MONITORING SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE SIMPLE, SAFE, AND EFFECTIVE WBPDT. THIS DELIVERY SYSTEM WILL ALSO EXTEND THE APPLICATION OF WBPDT TO TREAT PAPILLARY TUMORS, WHICH ARE NOW A CONTRAINDICATION TO INTRACAVITARY PDT. THIS DELIVERY SYSTEM FEATURES A BALLOON THAT TRANSFORMS THE BLADDER WALL INTO A SPHERE OF KNOWN VOLUME. PASSAGE OF A BULB-TIP TREATMENT FIBER INTO THE CATHETER AUTOMATICALLY LOCATES THE LIGHT EMITTER IN THE CENTER OF THE BALLOON AND BLADDER WALL. A LIGHT SENSOR INCORPORATED INTO THE BALLOON WALL ALLOWS CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF LIGHT FLUENCE AT THE BLADDER WALL AND PROVIDES A METHOD TO MEASURE CUMULATIVE LIGHT FLUENCE DURING WBPDT.