fig1 is a view of the therapeutic end of a typical prior art over - the - wire angioplasty balloon catheter 10 . such catheters are usually non - complaint with a fixed maximum dimension when expanded with a fluid such as saline . fig2 is a view of a dilating angioplasty balloon catheter 20 according to an embodiment of the invention . the catheter 20 includes an elongated carrier , such as a hollow sheath 21 , and a dilating balloon 26 formed about the sheath 21 in sealed relation therto at a seal 23 . the balloon 26 forms an annular channel 27 about the sheath 21 through which fluid , such as saline , may be admitted into the balloon to inflate the balloon . the channel 27 further permits the balloon 26 to be provided with two electrodes 22 and 24 within the fluid filled balloon 26 . the electrodes 22 and 24 are attached to a source of high voltage pulses 30 . the electrodes 22 and 24 are formed of metal , such as stainless steel , and are placed a controlled distance apart to allow a reproducible arc for a given voltage and current . the electrical arcs between electrodes 22 and 24 in the fluid are used to generate shock waves in the fluid . the variable high voltage pulse generator 30 is used to deliver a stream of pulses to the electrodes 22 and 24 to create a stream of shock waves within the balloon 26 and within the artery being treated ( not shown ). the magnitude of the shock waves can be controlled by controlling the magnitude of the pulsed voltage , the current , the duration and repetition rate . the insulating nature of the balloon 26 protects the patient from electrical shocks . the balloon 26 may be filled with water or saline in order to gently fix the balloon in the walls of the artery in the direct proximity with the calcified lesion . the fluid may also contain an x - ray contrast to permit fluoroscopic viewing of the catheter during use . the carrier 21 includes a lumen 29 through which a guidewire ( not shown ) may be inserted to guide the catheter into position . once positioned the physician or operator can start with low energy shock waves and increase the energy as needed to crack the calcified plaque . such shockwaves will be conducted through the fluid , through the balloon , through the blood and vessel wall to the calcified lesion where the energy will break the hardened plaque without the application of excessive pressure by the balloon on the walls of the artery . fig3 is a schematic of the high voltage pulse generator 30 . fig3 a shows a resulting waveform . the voltage needed will depend on the gap between the electrodes and generally 100 to 3000 volts . the high voltage switch 32 can be set to control the duration of the pulse . the pulse duration will depend on the surface area of the electrodes 22 and 24 and needs to be sufficient to generate a gas bubble at the surface of the electrode causing a plasma arc of electric current to jump the bubble and create a rapidly expanding and collapsing bubble , which creates the mechanical shock wave in the balloon . such shock waves can be as short as a few microseconds . fig4 is a cross sectional view of the shockwave catheter 20 showing an arc 25 between the electrodes 22 and 24 and simulations of the shock wave flow 28 . the shock wave 28 will radiate out from the electrodes 22 and 24 in all directions and will travel through the balloon 26 to the vessel where it will break the calcified lesion into smaller pieces . fig5 shows another dilating catheter 40 . it has insulated electrodes 42 and 44 within the balloon 46 displaced along the length of the balloon 46 . fig6 shows a dilating catheter 50 with an insulated electrode 52 within the balloon 56 . the electrode is a single electrode pole in the balloon , a second pole being the ionic fluid 54 inside the balloon . this unipolar configuration uses the ionic fluid as the other electrical pole and permits a smaller balloon and catheter design for low profile balloons . the ionic fluid is connected electrically to the hv pulse generator 30 . fig7 is another dilating 60 catheter with electrodes 62 and 64 within the balloon 66 and studs 65 to reach the calcification . the studs 65 form mechanical stress risers on the balloon surface 67 and are designed to mechanically conduct the shock wave through the intimal layer of tissue of the vessel and deliver it directly to the calcified lesion . fig8 is another dilating catheter 70 with electrodes 72 and 74 within the balloon 76 and with raised ribs 75 on the surface 77 of the balloon 76 . the raised ribs 75 ( best seen in fig8 a ) form stress risers that will focus the shockwave energy to linear regions of the calcified plaque . fig9 is a further dilating catheter 80 with electrodes 82 and 84 within the balloon 86 . the catheter 80 further includes a sensor 85 to detect reflected signals . reflected signals from the calcified plaque can be processed by a processor 88 to determine quality of the calcification and quality of pulverization of the lesion . fig1 is a pressure volume curve of a prior art balloon breaking a calcified lesion . fig1 b shows the build up of energy within the balloon ( region a to b ) and fig1 c shows the release of the energy ( region b to c ) when the calcification breaks . at region c the artery is expanded to the maximum dimension of the balloon . such a dimension can lead to injury to the vessel walls . fig1 a shows the initial inflation of the balloon . fig1 is a pressure volume curve showing the various stages in the breaking of a calcified lesion with shock waves according to the embodiment . the balloon is expanded with a saline fluid and can be expanded to fit snugly to the vessel wall ( region a ) ( fig1 a ) but this is not a requirement . as the high voltage pulses generate shock waves ( region b and c ) extremely high pressures , extremely short in duration will chip away the calcified lesion slowly and controllably expanding the opening in the vessel to allow blood to flow un - obstructed ( fig1 b ). fig1 shows , in a cutaway view , shock waves 98 delivered in all directions through the wall 92 of a saline filled balloon 90 and intima 94 to a calcified lesion 96 . the shock waves 98 pulverize the lesion 96 . the balloon wall 92 may be formed of non - compliant or compliant material to contact the intima 94 . fig1 shows calcified plaque 96 pulverized by the shock waves . the intima 94 is smoothed and restored after the expanded balloon ( not shown ) has pulverized and reshaped the plaque into the vessel wall . fig1 is a schematic of a circuit 100 that uses the generator circuit 30 of fig3 and a surface ekg 102 to synchronize the shock wave to the “ r ” wave for treating vessels near the heart . the circuit 100 includes an r - wave detector 102 and a controller 104 to control the high voltage switch 32 . mechanical shocks can stimulate heart muscle and could lead to an arrhythmia . while it is unlikely that shockwaves of such short duration as contemplated herein would stimulate the heart , by synchronizing the pulses ( or bursts of pulses ) with the r - wave , an additional degree of safety is provided when used on vessels of the heart or near the heart . while the balloon in the current drawings will provide an electrical isolation of the patient from the current , a device could be made in a non - balloon or non - isolated manner using blood as the fluid . in such a device , synchronization to the r - wave would significantly improve the safety against unwanted arrhythmias . fig1 shows a still further dilation catheter 110 wherein a shock wave is focused with a parabolic reflector 114 acting as one electrode inside a fluid filled compliant balloon 116 . the other electrode 112 is located at the coaxial center of the reflector 114 . by using the reflector as one electrode , the shock wave can be focused and therefore pointed at an angle ( 45 degrees , for example ) off the center line 111 of the catheter artery . in this configuration , the other electrode 112 will be designed to be at the coaxial center of the reflector and designed to arc to the reflector 114 through the fluid . the catheter can be rotated if needed to break hard plaque as it rotates and delivers shockwaves . while particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , modifications may be made . for example , instead of manual actuation and spring loaded return of the valves used herein , constructions are possible which perform in a reversed manner by being spring actuated and manually returned . it is therefore intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by those claims .
a system for breaking obstructions in body lumens includes a catheter including an elongated carrier , a balloon about the carrier in sealed relation thereto , the balloon being arranged to receive a fluid therein that inflates the balloon , and an arc generator including at least one electrode within the balloon that forms a mechanical shock wave within the balloon . the system further includes a power source that provides electrical energy to the arc generator .