Catheter with independent proximal and distal control
First Claim
1. A steerable catheter, comprising:
- an elongated flexible shaft having a distal end and a central lumen running the length of the shaft;
a continuously flexible tip assembly connected to the distal end of said shaft, said tip assembly comprising a proximal section and a distal section, each of said proximal and distal sections having a periphery and a distal end, at least said proximal section including a central lumen, each of said shaft and said proximal and distal sections having a stiffness which is selected to permit said sections to bend substantially independently of each other;
at least one proximal pull cable and one distal pull cable passing through said central lumen of said shaft to said tip assembly, said proximal pull cable being directed radially from the center lumen of the shaft to the periphery of the proximal section, said distal pull cable passing through the central lumen of said proximal section and being directed radially to the periphery of the distal section;
means for anchoring said proximal pull cable near the distal end of said proximal section so that tension applied to said proximal pull cable will cause said proximal section of said flexible tip assembly to bend within a first plane; and
means for anchoring said distal pull cable near the distal end of said distal section so that tension applied to said distal pull cable will cause said distal section of said tip assembly to bend within a second plane.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A steerable electrocardial catheter comprises an elongated flexible shaft and a flexible tip assembly connected to the distal end of the shaft. The tip assembly comprises a distal section and a proximal section coaxial with the shaft, the stiffness and length of the distal and proximal sections being selected to provide a predetermined curve configuration of the tip assembly when the distal section and/or proximal section is bent. A first pair of pull cables extending through the catheter is anchored at a first point in the tip assembly for bending the proximal section in a predetermined plane. A second pair of pull cables extending through the catheter is anchored at a second point in the tip assembly for bending the distal section in a predetermined plane. Any desired orientation of the bending planes is possible with the invention. A handle/actuator is also disclosed for applying tension to selected ones of the pull cables for controlling the deflection of the tip assembly.
563 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A steerable catheter, comprising:
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an elongated flexible shaft having a distal end and a central lumen running the length of the shaft; a continuously flexible tip assembly connected to the distal end of said shaft, said tip assembly comprising a proximal section and a distal section, each of said proximal and distal sections having a periphery and a distal end, at least said proximal section including a central lumen, each of said shaft and said proximal and distal sections having a stiffness which is selected to permit said sections to bend substantially independently of each other; at least one proximal pull cable and one distal pull cable passing through said central lumen of said shaft to said tip assembly, said proximal pull cable being directed radially from the center lumen of the shaft to the periphery of the proximal section, said distal pull cable passing through the central lumen of said proximal section and being directed radially to the periphery of the distal section; means for anchoring said proximal pull cable near the distal end of said proximal section so that tension applied to said proximal pull cable will cause said proximal section of said flexible tip assembly to bend within a first plane; and means for anchoring said distal pull cable near the distal end of said distal section so that tension applied to said distal pull cable will cause said distal section of said tip assembly to bend within a second plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A steerable electrocardial catheter, comprising:
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an elongated flexible shaft having a central lumen and a distal end; a continuously flexible tip assembly connected to the distal end of said shaft, said tip assembly comprising at least a tubular distal section and a tubular proximal section, each having proximal and distal ends and being colinear with said shaft, at least the proximal section having a central lumen, the stiffness of each of said shaft and said distal and proximal sections being selected to provide substantially independent bending of said distal section and/or proximal section; at least one electrode mounted on said tip assembly; at least one proximal pull cable extending through the central lumen of said shaft, said proximal pull cable being directed radially to the periphery of the proximal section and being anchored in said tip assembly for bending said proximal section in a predetermined plane without substantially bending said distal section; and at least one distal pull cable extending through the central lumen of said shaft and the central lumen of said proximal section, said distal pull cable being directed radially to the periphery of the distal section, and being anchored in said tip assembly for bending said distal section in a predetermined plane without substantially bending said proximal section. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification