Steerable open lumen catheter
First Claim
1. A tip deflectable, steerable catheter comprising:
- a catheter handle having a first body and a second body, said second body being mounted to and for selective movement relative to said first body;
an elongated catheter tube having longitudinally spaced apart proximal and distal ends, said proximal end of said catheter tube being fixedly attached to said first body of said catheter handle;
a catheter distal portion carried at said distal end of said catheter tube and having a distal end most remote from said handle;
an elongated tube having a central lumen disposed therewithin, said elongated tube being disposed within said catheter tube and extending from said proximal end of said catheter tube to said distal end of said catheter distal portion terminating in a distal opening in said catheter distal portion, said elongated tube having an circumferential outer surface;
a pair of elongated support members fixedly attached to and along a length of the circumferential outer surface of said elongated tube, said support members extending within said catheter distal portion and having proximal and distal ends; and
a first pull cable having a proximal end and a distal end, said distal end of said first pull cable being fixedly attached to the distal end of said catheter distal portion, and said proximal end of said first pull cable being attached to said second body such that when said second body moves relative to said first body, the distal end of said first pull cable moves longitudinally to cause said catheter distal portion to curve.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A steerable catheter includes a handle and a catheter tube, the distal region of which may be selectively curved by the operator. A fluid transport tube extends the entire length of the catheter to enable a user to supply or extract fluids from a patient through the catheter. Within the distal tip portion of the catheter tube, two support members are affixed to opposite sides of the fluid transport tube. The distal end of the tip portion of the catheter tube is attached to at least one and preferably two pull cables. When a pull cable is tightened, the catheter'"'"'s tip portion assumes a curve defined by the orientation in which the support members are affixed to the fluid transport tube. The two support members allow the tip portion of the catheter tube to assume a curvature only in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane of the two support members.
296 Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A tip deflectable, steerable catheter comprising:
-
a catheter handle having a first body and a second body, said second body being mounted to and for selective movement relative to said first body; an elongated catheter tube having longitudinally spaced apart proximal and distal ends, said proximal end of said catheter tube being fixedly attached to said first body of said catheter handle; a catheter distal portion carried at said distal end of said catheter tube and having a distal end most remote from said handle; an elongated tube having a central lumen disposed therewithin, said elongated tube being disposed within said catheter tube and extending from said proximal end of said catheter tube to said distal end of said catheter distal portion terminating in a distal opening in said catheter distal portion, said elongated tube having an circumferential outer surface; a pair of elongated support members fixedly attached to and along a length of the circumferential outer surface of said elongated tube, said support members extending within said catheter distal portion and having proximal and distal ends; and a first pull cable having a proximal end and a distal end, said distal end of said first pull cable being fixedly attached to the distal end of said catheter distal portion, and said proximal end of said first pull cable being attached to said second body such that when said second body moves relative to said first body, the distal end of said first pull cable moves longitudinally to cause said catheter distal portion to curve. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A tip deflectable, steerable catheter comprising:
-
a catheter handle having a first body and a second body, said second body being mounted to and for selective movement relative to said first body; an elongated catheter tube having longitudinally spaced apart proximal and distal ends, said proximal end of said catheter tube being fixedly attached to said first body of said catheter handle; a catheter distal portion carried at said distal end of said catheter tube and having a distal end most remote from said handle; an elongated tube having a central lumen disposed therewithin, said elongated tube being disposed within said catheter tube and extending from said proximal end of said catheter tube to said distal end of said catheter distal portion terminating in a distal opening in said catheter distal portion, said elongated tube having an circumferential outer surface; a pair of elongated support members fixedly attached to and along a length of said elongated tube, said support members extending within said catheter distal portion and having proximal and distal ends, said support members being circumferentially spaced apart from one another around the circumferential outer surface of said elongated tube; and a first pull cable having a proximal end and a distal end, said distal end of said first pull cable being fixedly attached to the distal end of said catheter distal portion, and said proximal end of said first pull cable being attached to said second body such that when said second body moves relative to said first body, the distal end of said first pull cable moves longitudinally to cause said catheter distal portion to curve. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
Specification