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AssigneeCardiac Pathways Corporation
InventorMir A. Imran
Estimating the term…
A device compressing a flexible elongate member having proximal and distal extremities and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart elements having a characteristic disposed in the distal extremity. A control mechanism is secured to the proximal extremity of the flexible elongate member. The control mechanism has a housing adapted to be grasped by a human hand. A first control member is slidably mounted in the housing. A second control member is rotatably mounted in the housing. The first and second control members are accessible to the fingers of the human hand grasping the housing. Electrical circuitry couples the first and second control members to the elements whereby when the first and second control members are moved, the distal extremity of the flexible elongate member is moved in accordance with the positioning of the first and second control members.
A control mechanism for use with a flexible elongate member having proximal and distal extremities and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart elements having a characteristic which is activated by heat disposed in the distal extremity comprising a housing adapted to be grasped by a human hand and coupled to the proximal extremity of the flexible elongate member, a first control member slidably mounted in the housing for linear motion from one linear position to another linear position, a second control member rotatably mounted in the housing for rotary motion from one rotary position to another rotary position, said first and second control members being accessible to the fingers of the human hand grasping the housing and electrical means adapted to couple the first and second control members to the elements in the distal extremity of the flexible elongate member to supply heat to the elements whereby when the first and second control members are moved, the distal extremity of the flexible elongate member is moved in accordance with the positioning of the first and second control members.
A method for steering the distal extremity of a flexible elongate member by the use of a control mechanism having a first movable control member of a linear motion output device and a second movable control member of a rotary motion output device comprising generating an electrical signal corresponding to a selected linear position of the first control member, generating an electrical signal corresponding to the selected angular position of the second control member, utilizing electrical logic means to determine in which quadrant of four quadrants the distal extremity of the flexible elongate element is located, generating sine and cosine functions of the selected angle in accordance with the quadrant, multiplying the signal representing the selected angular position with the signal representing the selected linear position to provide a combined signal and controlling the positioning of the distal extremity of the flexible elongate member in accordance with the combined signal.
A method for controlling the distal extremity of a flexible elongate element by the use of a control mechanism coupled to the proximal extremity of the flexible elongate member, the control mechanism having a first electrical device having a first control member for providing a desired bend in the distal extremity and a second electrical device having a second control member for providing a desired angle in the distal extremity comprising causing the distal extremity to bend in accordance with the first control member and causing rotational movement of the distal extremity of the flexible elongate member in accordance with the second control member regardless of the rotational position of the control mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.