Distal atherectomy catheter
First Claim
1. An atherectomy catheter for removal of occlusive material in a blood vessel, tract, or cavity comprising:
- (a) a catheter tube;
(b) a cutter head assembly attached to the distal end of said catheter tube;
(c) a slidably adjustable sheath extending about and enclosing said catheter tube and said cutter head assembly;
(d) a flexible, hollow drive shaft extending through said catheter tube;
(e) a rotary cutter mounted within said cutter head assembly and connected to said flexible drive means;
(f) power means connected to the end of said catheter tube for rotating said cutter within said cutter head assembly for excising material blocking the blood vessel;
(g) an idler sleeve journaled about said drive shaft adjacent said rotary cutter; and
(h) means connected to said catheter tube for evacuating the excised material from the blood vessel through said cutter head assembly and said catheter tube.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A distal atherectomy catheter is disclosed for removing obstructions, plaque, stenosis, occlusions, or the like from an artery or coronary vessel. The catheter comprises a flexible, hollow catheter tube. A cutting element is located within a cylindrical housing mounted at the distal end of the catheter tube. The cutting element is connected to a hollow, flexible drive shaft concentrically located within the catheter tube. The cutting element housing includes a side opening window or port providing access to the interior of the housing. An idler shaft journaled about the drive shaft provides a non-rotating surface adjacent the cutting element. An annular return passage is defined between the catheter tube and the flexible drive shaft providing a discharge passage communicating with external aspirating means for collection of cuttings removed by the cutting element from the artery or coronary vessel. A guide wire may extend through the catheter tube and cutting element for guiding the catheter to the occluded site in a vessel. The drive cable is connected to a drive motor housed within a handle housing. The catheter tube and cutter housing are enclosed within a sheath extending from the distal end of the catheter to the handle housing.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An atherectomy catheter for removal of occlusive material in a blood vessel, tract, or cavity comprising:
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(a) a catheter tube; (b) a cutter head assembly attached to the distal end of said catheter tube; (c) a slidably adjustable sheath extending about and enclosing said catheter tube and said cutter head assembly; (d) a flexible, hollow drive shaft extending through said catheter tube; (e) a rotary cutter mounted within said cutter head assembly and connected to said flexible drive means; (f) power means connected to the end of said catheter tube for rotating said cutter within said cutter head assembly for excising material blocking the blood vessel; (g) an idler sleeve journaled about said drive shaft adjacent said rotary cutter; and (h) means connected to said catheter tube for evacuating the excised material from the blood vessel through said cutter head assembly and said catheter tube. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An atherectomy catheter for removal of occlusive material in a blood vessel, tract, or cavity comprising:
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(a) a catheter tube; (b) a cutter head assembly attached to the distal end of said catheter tube; (c) a slidably adjustable sheath extending about and enclosing said catheter tube and said cutter head assembly; (d) a flexible, hollow drive shaft extending through said catheter tube; (e) a rotary cutter mounted within said cutter head assembly and connected to said flexible drive means; (f) power means connected to the end of said catheter tube for rotating said cutter within said cutter head assembly for excising material blocking the blood vessel; (g) an idler sleeve journaled about said drive shaft adjacent said cutter, said idler sleeve located between spaced stop collars mounted about said drive shaft; (h) detent sleeve means slidably connecting said sheath about said catheter tube; and (i) means connected to said catheter tube for evacuating excised material from the blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification