Endovascular cutting catheter and related method

Abstract

An apparatus for treating a lesion in a vasculature has a catheter shaft (12) with a plurality of openings (16), which may be axially spaced. One or more cutters (18,18′) are adapted for moving from a retraced position to a deployed position projecting from one of the plurality of openings for cutting the lesion, such as by being biased toward the opening and retracting upon engaging a leading edge thereof when the support is advanced proximally. A shaft forming part of the catheter may include a plurality of lateral openings and a plurality of cutters. The cutter(s) may be attached to a support adapted for moving independently within the shaft from a first position in which the cutter(s) move to a deployed position to project from a corresponding one of the plurality of openings for cutting the lesion. Related methods are also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.