Microfabricated surgical device for interventional procedures

A microfabricated surgical device for an interventional surgical procedure comprising:

• a catheter having a distal end for insertion into and manipulation within a body of a vascularized organism and a proximal end for providing a user with control over the manipulation of the distal end of the catheter within the body;
• an actuator joined to the distal end of the catheter, said actuator including an actuator body including an expandable section having an opening along its length and a needle having a shaft and a sharp tip at and end of the shaft, and being attached to the expandable section of the actuator body such that said needle is located within said actuator body with the sharp tip positioned radially inward from the opening when said actuator is in an unactuated condition and fully outside of said actuator body when said actuator is in an actuated condition, said needle being movable along a path substantially perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of said actuator body when said actuator changes from the unactuated condition to the actuated condition, wherein the needle shaft has a longitudinal axis that extends substantially radially and substantially orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis of the actuator body when the expandable section is in the actuated condition, and wherein the sharp tip is a puncturing tip located radially away from an attachment point of the needle to the expandable section of the actuator body;
• and
• fluid connections at the distal end of the catheter and a proximal end of said actuator to supply a therapeutic or diagnostic agent to said needle, and to provide an activating fluid to said actuator to cause said actuator to change from the unactuated condition to the actuated condition.

An actuator for an interventional surgical procedure comprising:

• an actuator body having a distal end and a proximal end, a longitudinal axis and an expandable section located between the distal end and the proximal end, said expandable section having an opening along its length and being operable between a furled state having an involute cross section and an unfurled state, wherein the expandable section includes a protected recess having a depth greater than 60% of the width of the actuator body;
• and
• a needle on said expandable section, said needle having a shaft and a sharp tip at an end of the shaft, and being movable from a position within said actuator body with the sharp tip positioned radially inward from the opening to a position outside of said actuator body, when said expandable section is caused to change from said furled state to said unfurled state, wherein the needle shaft has a longitudinal axis that extends substantially radially and substantially orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis of the actuator body when the expandable section is in the unfurled state, and wherein the sharp tip is located radially away from an attachment point of the needle to the expandable section of the actuator body, and wherein the needle is disposed radially within the protected recess and has a length equal to at least 60% of the width of the actuator body, and wherein the needle is fully extendable in a radial direction from the protected recess to penetrate a luminal wall when the actuator is in a body lumen, and wherein the needle tip includes an outlet port and the needle further includes a fluid delivery conduit suitable for delivering an agent to the outlet port to facilitate delivering the agent into a luminal wall when the actuator is in a body lumen.

An actuator for an interventional surgical procedure comprising:

• an actuator body having a distal end and a proximal end, a longitudinal axis, and an expandable section located between the distal end and the proximal end, said expandable section having an opening along its length and being operable between a furled state having an involute cross section and an unfurled state, wherein the expandable section includes a protected recess having a depth greater than 60% of the width of the actuator body;
• a fluid supply pathway suitable for delivering a fluid to the expandable section to facilitate causing said expandable section to change from said furled state to said unfurled state;
• and
• a needle on said expandable section, said needle having a shaft and a sharp tip at an end of the shaft, and being movable in an approximately perpendicular direction relative to the longitudinal axis of said actuator body from a position within said actuator body with the sharp tip positioned radially inward from the opening to a position outside of said actuator body when said expandable section is caused to change from said furled state to unfurled statue, wherein the needle shaft has a longitudinal axis that extends substantially radially and substantially orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis of the actuator body when the expandable section is in the unfurled state, and wherein the sharp tip is located radially away from an attachment point of the needle to the expandable section of the actuator body, and wherein the needle is disposed radially within the protected recess and has a length equal to at least 60% of the width of the actuator body and wherein the needle is fully extendable in a radial direction from the protected recess to penetrate a luminal wall when the actuator is in a body lumen and wherein the needle tip includes an outlet port and the needle further includes a fluid delivery conduit suitable for delivering an agent to the outlet port to facilitate delivering the agent into a luminal wall when the actuator is in a body lumen.