Steerable delivery catheter
First Claim
1. A steerable catheter for delivering and deploying a medical device comprising:
- an elongate tubular outer sheath having proximal and distal ends and a linear axis;
a housing mounted to the distal end of the sheath, the housing defining a chamber adapted to contain the medical device, the housing having an open distal port at its distal end;
an inner shaft extending through the sheath, the inner shaft being inextensible under tension;
an abutment secured to the distal end of the inner shaft, the abutment being disposed in the chamber and defining the proximal end of the chamber, the inner shaft and abutment being movable longitudinally with respect to the sheath and housing;
the outer sheath having a shelf adjacent the proximal region of the housing and proximal of the abutment, the shelf being adapted to be engaged by a proximally facing surface of the abutment to apply a compressive load to the outer sheath in response to tensioning of the inner shaft;
the outer sheath being sufficiently torsionally rigid to transmit, controllably, rotation applied at the proximal end to the distal end;
the outer sheath being constructed to bend longitudinally away from the linear axis under the compressive load applied by the abutment against the shelf, the degree of bending corresponding to the degree of compression load applied to the sheath; and
the outer sheath being retractable relative to the abutment whereby a medical device contained in the chamber may be at least partially deployed at a selected location by retracting the outer sheath relative to the abutment.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A steerable delivery catheter includes an outer sheath with a housing disposed at a distal end thereof to define a chamber for a medical device, the chamber having an open distal end and a proximal inner shelf. An inner shaft is slidably disposed within the sheath and has an abutment attached to the distal end of the shaft, the abutment being slidably contained within the chamber. During navigation of the catheter, when the inner shaft is tensioned the abutment engages the shelf to apply a compressive force to the sheath to selectively deflect a distal region of the catheter. When the catheter has been navigated to the deployment site the sheath is withdrawn while the abutment maintains the medical device in place as it is deployed. A delivery method also is disclosed.
71 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A steerable catheter for delivering and deploying a medical device comprising:
-
an elongate tubular outer sheath having proximal and distal ends and a linear axis; a housing mounted to the distal end of the sheath, the housing defining a chamber adapted to contain the medical device, the housing having an open distal port at its distal end; an inner shaft extending through the sheath, the inner shaft being inextensible under tension; an abutment secured to the distal end of the inner shaft, the abutment being disposed in the chamber and defining the proximal end of the chamber, the inner shaft and abutment being movable longitudinally with respect to the sheath and housing; the outer sheath having a shelf adjacent the proximal region of the housing and proximal of the abutment, the shelf being adapted to be engaged by a proximally facing surface of the abutment to apply a compressive load to the outer sheath in response to tensioning of the inner shaft; the outer sheath being sufficiently torsionally rigid to transmit, controllably, rotation applied at the proximal end to the distal end; the outer sheath being constructed to bend longitudinally away from the linear axis under the compressive load applied by the abutment against the shelf, the degree of bending corresponding to the degree of compression load applied to the sheath; and the outer sheath being retractable relative to the abutment whereby a medical device contained in the chamber may be at least partially deployed at a selected location by retracting the outer sheath relative to the abutment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A steerable catheter for delivering and deploying a medical device comprising:
-
a tubular outer sheath having proximal and distal ends; a housing mounted to the distal end of the sheath, the housing defining a chamber adapted to contain the medical device, the housing having an open distal port at its distal end; an inner shaft extending through the sheath, the inner shaft being inextensible under tension; an abutment secured to the distal end of the shaft, the abutment being disposed in the chamber and defining the proximal end of the chamber, the inner shaft and abutment being movable longitudinally with respect to the sheath and the housing; the outer sheath having a shelf adjacent the proximal region of the housing and proximal of the abutment, the shelf being adapted to be engaged by a proximally facing surface of the abutment and to apply a compressive load to the outer sheath in response to tensioning of the inner shaft; the outer sheath having means for enabling the sheath to bend longitudinally under the compressive load applied by the abutment against the shelf, the degree of bending corresponding to the degree of compression load applied to the sheath; and the outer sheath being retractable relative to the abutment whereby a medical device contained in the chamber may be at least partially deployed at a selected location by retracting the outer sheath relative to the abutment.
-
-
16. A steerable catheter for delivering and deploying a medical device through a femoral vein at least to the right side of a patient'"'"'s heart comprising:
-
a tubular outer sheath having proximal and distal ends; a housing mounted to the distal end of the sheath, the housing defining a chamber adapted to contain the medical device, the housing having an open distal port at its distal end; an inner shaft extending through the sheath, the inner shaft being inextensible under tension; an abutment secured to the distal end of the shaft, the abutment being disposed in the chamber and defining the proximal end of the chamber, the inner shaft and abutment being movable longitudinally with respect to the sheath and housing; the outer sheath having a shelf adjacent the proximal region of the housing and proximal of the abutment, the shelf being adapted to be engaged by a proximally facing surface of the abutment to apply a compressive load to the outer sheath in response to tensioning of the inner shaft; the outer sheath having means for enabling the sheath to bend longitudinally under the compressive load applied by the abutment against the shelf, the degree of bending corresponding to the degree of compression load applied to the sheath, the sheath being bendable and navigable through a path that includes at least two bends of about 180 degrees; and the outer sheath being retractable relative to the abutment whereby a medical device contained in the chamber may be at least partially deployed at a selected location by retracting the outer sheath relative to the abutment. - View Dependent Claims (17)
-
-
18. A method for delivering and deploying a medical device in the pulmonary artery of a human patient comprising:
-
receiving a steerable catheter including an elongate tubular outer sheath having proximal and distal ends and a housing mounted to the distal end of the sheath, the housing defining a chamber containing the medical device, the housing having an open distal port at its distal end, the catheter having a inextensible inner shaft extending through the sheath, an abutment secured to the distal end of the inner shaft and being disposed in the chamber and defining the proximal end of the chamber, the inner shaft and abutment being movable longitudinally with respect to the sheath and housing, the outer sheath having a shelf adjacent the proximal region of the housing and proximal of the abutment, the shelf being adapted to be engaged by the proximally facing surface of the abutment and apply a compressive load to the outer sheath in response to tensioning of the inner shaft, the outer sheath being constructed to bend longitudinally under the compressive load applied by the abutment against the shelf, the degree of bending corresponding to the degree of compression load applied to the sheath, the outer sheath being retractable relative to the abutment whereby the medical device contained in the chamber may be at least partially deployed at a selected location by retracting the outer sheath relative to the abutment; introducing the distal end of the catheter percutaneously into a femoral vein of the patient and advancing the catheter along a path that extends through the right side of the patient'"'"'s heart and into the pulmonary artery, the path including at least two bends of at least about 180 degrees; and retracting the outer sheath while maintaining the position of the abutment to deploy the medical device. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
Specification