| abstract |
A catheter for treating and imaging tissue within a patient's body includes a distal portion having a tissue grasper in the form of a vacuum recess, with a close-up imaging device positioned adjacent or within the vacuum recess. The close-up imaging device provides imaging signals for imaging the tissue in front of the vacuum recess. The close-up imaging device may be in the form of an ultrasound transducer, which may be a linear or 2-dimensional array. The close-up imaging device may include imaging elements positioned around the axis of the catheter, and/or positioned on opposing sides of the tissue grasper. Another imaging device may be provided to provide “distant” images of the treatment area, with the close-up images and distant images provided to a user via one or more display screens. A tissue connector is positioned at the distal portion of the catheter. |