US 2003/0114832 A1 · Interventional catheter with three dimensional articulation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a catheter incorporating an articulating distal end, including a catheter body with a central lumen and an outer wall in which are one or more wires, and a handle including mechanisms for applying tension to the wires. Applying tension to a wire will cause a bending portion of the catheter to bend into an arc. When more than one wire or tensioning member and more than one mechanism for applying tension are included in the catheter, the wires are offset from each other so that multiple bends on multiple planes may be formed in multiple bending portions in the body of the catheter. The present invention further relates to a catheter including one wire, and a handle including a mechanism for applying tension to the wire, the wire and the catheter body configured so that applying tension to a wire will cause more than one bending portion of the catheter to bend into an arc, and the bending portions are made of different durometer material. The present invention further relates to a method of using a catheter to access a heart chamber of a patient and locate the distal end of the catheter proximate a shunt located in a wall of the heart.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A catheter comprising:

a body extending between a distal end and a proximal end;
the body including a central lumen defined by an outer wall, the central lumen extending longitudinally from the proximal end to the distal end and permitting fluid communication between the ends, the outer wall made of a resilient, flexible material and including a bend portion adjacent the distal end where the outer wall has greater flexibility;
the body further including a tensioning member lumen extending longitudinally through the outer wall;
a tensioning member within the tensioning member lumen extending from the proximal end toward the distal end to a point distal to the bend portion of the body and anchored to the outer wall within the tensioning member lumen at the point;
wherein applying tension to the tensioning member deflects the distal end along a plane defined by the tensioning member and a central axis of the body, in the direction of the tensioning member, the bend portion forming a bend along the plane.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Interventional catheter with three dimensional articulation

Life of this patent

Interventional catheter with three dimensional articulation

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22