Guidewire and catheter with rotating and reciprocating symmetrical or asymmetrical distal tip

• US 6,258,052 B1
• Filed: 11/18/1999
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cardinal Health Switzerland 515 GmbH (Cardinal Health, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LuMend, Inc. (Cardinal Health, Inc.)
• Inventors: Milo, Charles F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Seidel, Richard K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAYES, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US09/443,682
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 604/20, 604/22, 604/96, 604/523, 606/1, 606/159, 606/167, 606/169, 606/170, 606/171, 606/177, 606/180, 600/463, 600/464, 600/467, 600/471
• US Class Current: 604/22
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/22012 in direct contact with, or very close to, the obstruction or concrement for removing obstructions in blood vessels by laser A61B18/245
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/320758 with a rotating cutting instrument, e.g. motor driven A61B17/320725, A61B17/32075 and A61B17/320783 take precedence; for removing intra-ocular material A61F9/00763; endoscopic rotatable cutting instruments A61B17/32002
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0105 Steering means as part of the catheter or advancing means; Markers for positioning systems for detection of markers A61B
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0116 self-propelled, e.g. autonomous robots A61M25/0122 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/09041 Mechanisms for insertion of guide wires

Abstract

A guidewire or a catheter for crossing vascular occlusions comprises a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, and a drive member having a proximal and a distal end, the drive member being rotatably disposed within and along a longitudinal axis of the guidewire shaft. An actuator is connected to the proximal end of the drive member, the actuator imparting a rotation to the drive member. An asymmetrical rotating tip is attached to the distal end of the drive member and driven in rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft by the drive member. The rotating tip may include a protruding portion that projects from a plane defined by an outer surface of the guidewire shaft to render the rotating tip asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The protruding portion creates a volume of revolution as the asymmetrical tip rotates, which facilitates crossing a vascular occlusion by displacing and exerting pressure on stenotic material causing the occlusion. Alternatively, the rotating tip may be symmetrical. A coupling member may be attached to the distal end of the shaft and may include a distal angled surface. When the tip includes a mating angled surface, rotation of the drive member causes the tip to undergo both a reciprocal and a rotational motion along and about the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

Claims

1. An instrument for crossing a vascular occlusion, comprising:

a non-rotating shaft;

a drive member within the shaft that rotates about a longitudinal axis of the shaft;

a non-rotating coupling member attached to a distal end of the shaft, wherein the drive member rotates within the coupling member, the coupling member including a distal angled surface oriented at an angle relative to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft; and

an atraumatic tip attached to a distal end of the drive member and driven in rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft by the drive member, wherein the tip is for contacting the vascular occlusion and displacing material causing the vascular occlusion, the tip including a proximal angled surface in contact with the distal angled surface such that in a first radial position the distal angled surface and the proximal angled surface are substantially in contact over both of the respective surfaces, wherein rotation of the tip out of the first radial position causes the tip to reciprocate along the longitudinal axis of the shaft with respect to the coupling member as a result of a force exerted on the proximal angled surface by the distal angled surface.

2. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the distal angled surface of the coupling member and the proximal angled surface of the tip are substantially planar.

3. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the distal angled surface of the coupling member and the proximal angled surface of the tip are substantially non-planar and include mating topographical features.

4. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the distal angled surface of the coupling member and the proximal angled surface of the tip are substantially non-planar and include mating topographical features, and wherein the angle comprises an angle selected from a group comprising the range of 2 degrees to 45 degrees.

5. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the tip is rounded and substantially symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

6. The instrument of claim 1, wherein the tip is rounded and is asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

7. An instrument for crossing a vascular occlusion, comprising:

a shaft;

a drive member within the shaft that rotates about a longitudinal axis of the shaft;

a coupling member attached to a distal end of the shaft, the coupling member including a substantially planar distal angled surface oriented at an angle relative to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft; and

a symmetrical tip attached to a distal end of the drive member and driven in rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft by the drive member, the symmetrical tip including a substantially planar proximal angled surface in contact with the substantially planar distal angled surface such that the symmetrical tip reciprocates along the longitudinal axis of the shaft with respect to the coupling member during rotation.

8. An instrument for crossing a vascular occlusion, comprising:

a shaft;

a drive member within the shaft that rotates about a longitudinal axis of the shaft;

a coupling member attached to a distal end of the shaft, the coupling member including a substantially planar distal angled surface oriented at an angle relative to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft; and

an asymmetrical tip attached to a distal end of the drive member and driven in rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft by the drive member, wherein the asymmetrical tip is asymmetrical with respect to a radius measured from the longitudinal axis of the shaft, the asymmetrical tip including a substantially planar proximal angled surface in contact with the substantially planar distal angled surface such that the asymmetrical tip reciprocates along the longitudinal axis of the shaft with respect to the coupling member during rotation.