Rotational and deflectable catheter control assembly

#The present disclosure relates to a control assembly for a medical interventional device, such as catheter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a control assembly capable of providing both rotation and deflection of a distal tip of a catheter in response to movement of at least one actuator dial by a user.

#A catheter is a medical instrument for use in accessing an interior of a patient's body with a distal tip during a medical procedure. The catheter can include at least one working component, such as a fluid channel, a working channel, and/or an electronics cable, which extend along the catheter and terminate at or adjacent the distal tip. Catheters typically have a control handle which is configured to allow a user to control a position of the distal tip during the procedure, such as via rotation of a knob on the control handle to effectuate rotation of the catheter and the distal tip about an axis. However, the working components which pass through the catheter shaft are prone to winding, overlapping, occlusion or other damage during their simultaneous rotation with the catheter shaft. Torsional stresses and crossing of the working components caused during rotation of the catheter shaft can damage or impair the function of the catheter device. For example, the fluid channel is utilized to deliver fluids and the working channel is utilized to deliver an instrument to the distal tip of the catheter during the medical procedure. However, kinking, crossing or other occlusion of these channel components can prevent the related fluids or instrument from reaching the distal tip during the medical procedure, and thus resulting in an ineffective catheter that fails during the medical procedure. Additionally, knotting or worse yet facture of the electronics cable can lead to full loss of function of the electronics. Thus, there remains a need for improvements to such catheter control assemblies in which the catheter shaft is rotatable about the axis during the medical procedure by a user and includes at least one working component.

#A control assembly for a catheter having at least one working component includes a housing extending along an axis between a proximal housing end and a distal housing end to define a housing compartment extending therebetween. A control case is disposed within the housing compartment adjacent the proximal housing end. A catheter shaft extends within the housing compartment from the control case to a distal tip disposed adjacent the distal housing end. The catheter shaft is rotatable about the axis during operation of the control assembly to effectuate rotation of the distal tip. At least one working component of the catheter includes at least one channel component extending from a static portion disposed adjacent the proximal housing end in coupled and generally stationary relationship relative to the control case to a dynamic portion extending along and rotatable about the axis simultaneously with the catheter shaft. A lumen interruption mechanism is disposed in the control case and extends from a proximal mechanism end disposed in communication with the static portion of the at least one channel component to a distal mechanism end disposed in communication with the dynamic portion of said at least one channel component. As will be more fully explained in the following detailed description, the lumen interruption mechanism transitions the at least one channel component from the static portion to the dynamic portion as the at least one channel component translates through the housing compartment and is dynamically rotated about the axis simultaneously with the catheter shaft to maintain the integrity of the dynamic portion of the at least one channel component, and avoid damage such as via kinking, occlusion, or the like during use of the control assembly in a medical procedure.

#Other aspects of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a control assembly including a housing extending from a proximal housing end to a distal housing end along an axis A and a handle portion disposed adjacent the proximal housing end and axially translatable along the housing towards the distal housing end;

#FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the control assembly illustrating a control case disposed within the housing adjacent the proximal housing end and a catheter shaft extending from a distal case end of the control case to a distal tip disposed adjacent the distal housing end;

#In the following description, details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. In some instances, certain systems, structures and techniques have not been described or shown in detail in order not to obscure the disclosure.

#Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a control assembly 10 for a medical interventional device, such as a catheter, is generally shown. While the subject control assembly 10 is described herein for use with a catheter, it should be appreciated that the control assembly 10 could be used in association with other medical interventional devices without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the catheter control assembly 10 includes a housing 12 which extends in a longitudinal direction along an axis A between a proximal housing end 14 and a distal housing end 16 to define a housing compartment 18 for receiving the catheter, along with at least one of its associated working components, namely a working channel component 22, a fluid channel component 24, and/or an electronics cable 26.

#More specifically, and as further illustrated in FIGS. 1A, a control case 72 is disposed within the housing compartment 18 adjacent the proximal housing end 14, and a catheter shaft 20 extends within the housing compartment 18 from the control case 72 and extending through and beyond the housing compartment to a distal tip 21 disposed adjacent and exterior to the distal housing end 16. The working channel component 22 and the fluid channel component 24 of the catheter extend from respective static portions 22′, 24′ disposed adjacent the proximal housing end 14 in coupled and generally stationary relationship relative to the control case 72 and the housing 12 during operation of the control assembly 10. For example, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 19, a proximal case end 74 of the control case 72 includes a working channel port 28 and a fluid channel port 30, each for receiving respective static portions 22′, 24′ of the working channel and fluid channel components 22, 24 from an environment of the control assembly 10. The electronics cable component 26 also extends from a static portion 26′ disposed in coupled and generally stationary relationship relative to the control case 72 and the housing 12 during operation of the control assembly 10. For example, as also illustrated in FIG. 2, the proximal case end 74 of the control case 72 can additionally include an electronics port 32 including a strain relief sheath 34 for receiving the static portion 26′ of the electronics cable 26 from the environment of the control assembly 10. However, as illustrated in FIG. 19, the electronics port 32 can also be disposed adjacent the distal case end 76 of the control case 72 such that the static portion 26′ of the electronics cable 26 enters the control case 72 and is coupled generally stationary relative to the distal case end 76 without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure.