Enhanced Efficacy Lung Volume Reduction Devices, Methods, and Systems

Abstract

A lung volume reduction system is disclosed comprising an implantable device adapted to be delivered to a lung airway of a patient in a delivery configuration and to change to a deployed configuration to bend the lung airway. The invention also discloses a method of bending a lung airway of a patient comprising inserting a device into the airway in a delivery configuration and bending the device into a deployed configuration, thereby bending the airway.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating a lung of a patient, the lung including an airway system comprising a first airway and a second airway, the method comprising:
 imaging the thoracic cavity of the patient before a treatment to generate pre-treatment image data;   processing and evaluating the pre-treatment image data to provide pre-treatment data indicating a pre-treatment lung characteristic;   based on the pre-treatment lung characteristic, selecting a first implant for deployment into the lung to improve the pre-treatment lung characteristic from a plurality of alternatively selectable implants;   deploying the first implant to a first portion of the lung from within the first airway so as to compress the first portion of the lung;   imaging the thoracic cavity of the patient after the treatment to generate post-treatment image data;   processing and evaluating the post-treatment image data to provide post-treatment data; and   comparing the pre-treatment data and the post-treatment data to verify whether the pre-treatment lung characteristic improved to a desired lung characteristic.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment lung characteristic comprises a localized density of one or more portions of the lung. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the localized density is determined based on a density distribution map. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment lung characteristic comprises a shape, a curvature, a position of a diaphragm, or an orientation of the diaphragm. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment lung characteristic is characterized by a pre-treatment forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment FEV 1  that is greater than the pre-treatment FEV1 by 8% or more. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment FEV1 that is greater than the pre-treatment FEV1 by between 10% and 30%. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment FEV1 that is greater than the pre-treatment FEV1 by between 75% and 150%. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the desired lung characteristic is characterized by a post-treatment residual lung volume that is greater than a pre-treatment residual lung volume by 6% or greater. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining that the pre-treatment lung characteristic did not improve to the desired lung characteristic;   selecting a second implant for deployment from the plurality of alternatively selectable implants; and   deploying the second implant to a second portion of the lung from within the second airway so as to compress the second portion of the lung.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring a change in a volume of the lung during compression of the first portion of the lung to evaluate a treatment effectiveness. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring a change of air flow of the lung during compression of the first portion of the lung to evaluate a treatment effectiveness. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring a change of lung pressure versus lung volume during compression of the first portion of the lung to evaluate a treatment effectiveness. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring a blood oxygen content of the patient. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first implant comprises a coil having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the first portion of the lung is laterally compressed between the proximal end and the distal end when the first implant is deployed. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first implant is deployed such that it permits airflow in opposing directions through the first airway past the first implant. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first implant comprises a coil, and wherein the first implant is selected based on a coil length. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the coil length of the first implant is greater than a length of a target axial region. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the coil length of the first implant is greater than the length of the target axial region by 10% or more. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first implant comprises a coil, and wherein the first implant is selected based on a coil shape.