Catheter with high speed moving working head
First Claim
1. A catheter for introduction into a lumen in a living being to open a restriction formed of an undesirable material in a remote portion of said lumen, said catheter comprising an elongated member having a longitudinal axis, a working head located adjacent the distal end thereof, and drive means for effecting the rotation of said working head about said axis, said working head comprising at least one, non-sharp, arcuate impacting surface repeatedly impacting said material as said working head is rotated about said axis and producing a wave in the tissue of said lumen adjacent said impacting surface, said impacting surface defining at least one curve in a plane perpendicular to said axis, with the radius of curvature of said curve in said plane being substantially equal or greater than said tissue wave, whereupon the repeated impaction of said impacting surface on said undesirable material opens said restriction and reduces in size any portion of said undesirable material broken away by the impacting action of said impacting surface to enable said portion to flow distally without significant deleterious effects to distally located tissue.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible, small diameter catheter for effecting various surgical procedures, such as opening a restriction formed of an undesirable material, e.g., atherosclerotic plaque, in a lumen, e.g., an artery, of a living being. The catheter includes a working head having at least one, non-sharp impacting surface arranged to be moved, e.g., rotated, at a high rate of speed by an associated drive means within the catheter. The catheter with the moving working head is brought into engagement to effect the opening of the restriction by dilating the artery and/or removing undesirable material therefrom. The removal of undesirable material results from the impacting surface impacting the material of the restriction repeatedly. A fluid is provided through the catheter to the working head and a portion is thrown radially outward. The fluid at the working head also flows in a vortex to cause any particles broken off from the restriction back to the moving working head where they are impacted again and again to further reduce their size. Such action creates particles of sufficiently small size that they may be enabled to flow distally without significant deleterious effects to distally located tissue.
-
Citations
24 Claims
- 1. A catheter for introduction into a lumen in a living being to open a restriction formed of an undesirable material in a remote portion of said lumen, said catheter comprising an elongated member having a longitudinal axis, a working head located adjacent the distal end thereof, and drive means for effecting the rotation of said working head about said axis, said working head comprising at least one, non-sharp, arcuate impacting surface repeatedly impacting said material as said working head is rotated about said axis and producing a wave in the tissue of said lumen adjacent said impacting surface, said impacting surface defining at least one curve in a plane perpendicular to said axis, with the radius of curvature of said curve in said plane being substantially equal or greater than said tissue wave, whereupon the repeated impaction of said impacting surface on said undesirable material opens said restriction and reduces in size any portion of said undesirable material broken away by the impacting action of said impacting surface to enable said portion to flow distally without significant deleterious effects to distally located tissue.
- 22. A method for opening a restriction formed of an undesirable material in a portion of a lumen in a living being using an instrument in said lumen at a location remote from said restriction, said instrument comprising a member having a longitudinal axis, a working head located at the distal end thereof, and drive means for effecting the rotation of said working head about said axis, said working head comprising at least one, non-sharp, arcuate impacting surface, said method comprising the steps of locating said working head in said lumen at the situs of said undesirable material, and operating said drive means to cause said working head to rotate, whereupon said impacting surface releatedly impacts said material and produces a wave in the tissue of said lumen adjacent said impacting surface, said impacting surface defining at least one curve in a plane perpendicular to said axis, with the radius of curvature of said curve in said plane being substantially equal or greater than said tissue wave so that the impaction of said impacting surface on said undesirable material thereby opens said restriction and reduces in size any portion of said undesirable material broken away by the impaction action of said impacting surface to enable said portion to flow distally without significant delterious effects to distally located tissue.
Specification