Vascular guidewire control apparatus
First Claim
1. A controller for facilitating manual control of a guidewire, the controller comprising:
- a housing having a longitudinal axis and an elongate aperture that extends substantially along the longitudinal axis and radially through the surface of the housing to a guidewire channel for receiving and releasing a length of the guidewire;
a cap; and
a collet sized to be axially received by the housing and having a longitudinal axis, an elongate aperture that extends substantially along the longitudinal axis and radially through the surface of the collet, and a first end for engagement with the housing and a second end for engagement with the cap, wherein said collet is fully detached from said housing and further comprises a plurality of slots;
wherein the housing has a leading end formed to receive the collet and, upon receipt of the collet, to apply a radially inward force on the collet, the housing being further formed to releasably engage the cap and to align the collet via insertion of a spline that fits within the guidewire channel of said housing into one slot of said plurality slots of the collet, wherein the spline is configured to maintain alignment of the elongate aperture of the collet and the elongate aperture of the housing when the collet is received by the housing; and
wherein the cap is formed to be releasably engaged by the housing and upon engagement by the housing, to apply a radially inward force on the collet.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A controller for use with a guidewire, such as a vascular guidewire, provides a mechanism for gripping and applying a torque to the guidewire without the need to thread the guidewire axially through the controller and at a location close to a point of access of the guidewire. In one embodiment, the controller includes a side-access, multi-part assembly including a collett or other gripping element that applies a uniform radially inward force on the guidewire. In another embodiment, for use with guidewires having active electrically controllable elements, the controller integrally or removably incorporates a switch or other mechanism to initiate an energized state. The controller thereby permits, among other advantages, ergonomic, single-handed control of an electronically steerable guidewire, including axially displacing, torquing and steering the guidewire.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. A controller for facilitating manual control of a guidewire, the controller comprising:
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a housing having a longitudinal axis and an elongate aperture that extends substantially along the longitudinal axis and radially through the surface of the housing to a guidewire channel for receiving and releasing a length of the guidewire; a cap; and a collet sized to be axially received by the housing and having a longitudinal axis, an elongate aperture that extends substantially along the longitudinal axis and radially through the surface of the collet, and a first end for engagement with the housing and a second end for engagement with the cap, wherein said collet is fully detached from said housing and further comprises a plurality of slots; wherein the housing has a leading end formed to receive the collet and, upon receipt of the collet, to apply a radially inward force on the collet, the housing being further formed to releasably engage the cap and to align the collet via insertion of a spline that fits within the guidewire channel of said housing into one slot of said plurality slots of the collet, wherein the spline is configured to maintain alignment of the elongate aperture of the collet and the elongate aperture of the housing when the collet is received by the housing; and wherein the cap is formed to be releasably engaged by the housing and upon engagement by the housing, to apply a radially inward force on the collet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification