Catheter for guide-wire tracking
AssigneeTarget Therapeutics, Inc.
InventorErik T. Engelson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A catheter for use with a guide wire which can be guided from an external body access site to an internal tissue, and into the tissue along a tortuous path of at least about 5 cm through vessels of less than about 3 mm lumen inner diameter. The catheter includes a relatively stiff proximal segment dimensioned to track the wire from the access site to a region adjacent the internal tissue, and a relatively flexible distal segment dimensioned to track the wire along the tortuous path within the soft tissue.
Claims11
A catheter for use with a guide wire which can be guided from an external body access site to an internal tissue, and into the tissue along a tortuous path of at least about 5 cm through vessels of less than about 3 mm lumen inner diameter, said catheter comprising
- an elongate tubular member having proximal and distal ends, and an inner lumen extending between these ends, said member being composed of
- a relatively stiff proximal segment means for tracking the wire from the access site to a region adjacent the internal tissue, and
- a relatively flexible distal segment means at least about 5 cm long for tracking the wire along the tortuous path within the internal tissue.
The catheter of 4, wherein the outer tube extends substantially the entire length of the catheter.
A catheter device for use in accessing a target site located within a tissue along a tortuous path of at least about 5 cm through vessels of less than about 3 mm lumen inner diameter, said device comprising
- a guide wire which can be guided from an external body access site to the tissue, and into the tissue along the tortuous path to the target site, and
- an elongate tubular member having proximal and distal ends, and an inner lumen extending between these ends, and through which the wire is slidably carried, said member being composed of
- a relatively stiff proximal segment means for tracking the wire from the access site to a region adjacent the internal tissue, and
- a relatively flexible distal segment means at least about 5 cm long, for tracking the wire along the tortuous path within the internal tissue.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.