Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 36
Claim 1
Independent Claim
69 words
A cutting tool for removing abnormal intra-arterial deposits, comprising a generally ellipsoidal body having at least one cutting flute extending along and defining the outer surface of said body, each cutting flute having a circumferentially facing cutting face formed thereon, said body further having a polished nose at one end thereof and attaching means at the other end thereof for securing said cutting tool to a rotating drive shaft.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
69 words
A cutting tool for removing abnormal intra-arterial deposits, comprising a generally ellipsoidal body having at least one cutting flute extending along and defining the outer surface of said body, each cutting flute having a circumferentially facing cutting face formed thereon, said body further having a polished nose at one end thereof and attaching means at the other end thereof for securing said cutting tool to a rotating drive shaft.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
The cutting tool of claim 1 wherein each flute extends rearwardly and circumferentially away from said nose in a spiral configuration so that rotation of said cutting tool within a blood vessel has a tendency to force blood away from said nose.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
The cutting tool of claim 1 wherein the angle between the cutting face of each flute and the circumference around said body is between 90 and 130 degrees in order to maximize the ability of said cutting tool to remove relatively hard substances without cutting relatively soft material.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
107 words
A cutting tool for removing abnormal intra-arterial deposits, comprising a generally ellipsoidal body having a center cavity, at least one cutting flute extending along the outer surface of said body, each having a circumferentially facing cutting face formed thereon, and a radial fluid port extending from in front of a respective face of a flute into said center cavity, each port having a circumferential component extending into said cavity away from said first circumferential direction whereby rotation of said cutting tool within a blood vessel in said first circumferential direction about the major axis of said body has a tendency to force blood inwardly through said port.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
107 words
A cutting tool for removing abnormal intra-arterial deposits, comprising a generally ellipsoidal body having a center cavity, at least one cutting flute extending along the outer surface of said body, each having a circumferentially facing cutting face formed thereon, and a radial fluid port extending from in front of a respective face of a flute into said center cavity, each port having a circumferential component extending into said cavity away from said first circumferential direction whereby rotation of said cutting tool within a blood vessel in said first circumferential direction about the major axis of said body has a tendency to force blood inwardly through said port.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The cutting tool of claim 4, further including a nose fluid port extending along said major axis from the nose of said body to said center cavity:
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The cutting tool of claim 5 wherein each flute terminates before reaching said nose and said nose is polished to a smooth finish.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
The cutting tool of claim 5 wherein each radial fluid port has a component extending along said major axis in a direction away from said nose so that fluid flows into said cavity away from said nose fluid port.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
49 words
The cutting tool of claim 7 wherein each flute extends rearwardly and circumferentially away from said nose in a spiral configuration so that rotation of said cutting tool within a blood vessel has a tendency to force debris-entrained blood away from said nose and into said radial fluid port.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
48 words
The cutting tool of claim 4 wherein the angle between the cutting face of each flute and the circumference around said body is between 90 and 130 degrees in order to maximize the ability of said cutting tool to remove relatively hard substances without cutting relatively soft material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
The cutting tool of claim 4 wherein each flute extends rearwardly and circumferentially from one end of said body to the other in a spiral configuration so that rotation of said cutting tool within a blood vessel in the forward direction has a tendency to force blood along the outer surface of said body.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
159 words
A system for removing abnormal, relatively hard deposits from a relatively soft vascular vessel, comprising: a generally ellipsoidal cutting tool having a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of said vessel, said cutting tool having at least one cutting flute extending along its outer surface, each cutting flute having an elongated cutting face which defines the circumference of said tool, said cutting face intersecting the circumference of said tool at an angle selected to fracture said relatively hard deposits without cutting said relatively soft vessel; a flexible drive shaft having one end connected to said cutting tool, said shaft having a length that is sufficient to reach from a point outside of a patient's body through said vessel to said abnormal deposit; a flexible guiding catheter surrounding said drive shaft over most of its length; and rotary drive means connected to said drive shaft to rotate said cutting tool in the direction that said cutting face is facing.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
159 words
A system for removing abnormal, relatively hard deposits from a relatively soft vascular vessel, comprising: a generally ellipsoidal cutting tool having a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of said vessel, said cutting tool having at least one cutting flute extending along its outer surface, each cutting flute having an elongated cutting face which defines the circumference of said tool, said cutting face intersecting the circumference of said tool at an angle selected to fracture said relatively hard deposits without cutting said relatively soft vessel; a flexible drive shaft having one end connected to said cutting tool, said shaft having a length that is sufficient to reach from a point outside of a patient's body through said vessel to said abnormal deposit; a flexible guiding catheter surrounding said drive shaft over most of its length; and rotary drive means connected to said drive shaft to rotate said cutting tool in the direction that said cutting face is facing.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
52 words
The system of claim 11 wherein said drive shaft contains a hollow channel and said cutting tool includes at least one fluid port communicating with said channel, said system further including a suction device communicating with said channel to draw blood and deposit debris into said fluid port and through said channel.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said drive shaft extends through said rotary drive means and terminates in a fluid manifold that communicates with said suction device.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 13, further including a fluid trap communicating with said manifold for collecting said debris-entrained blood.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system of claim 13, further including means for selectively preventing said suction device from applying a vacuum to said fluid manifold and wherein said manifold further includes an injection port for inserting fluid into said vessel through said manifold, drive shaft channel, and cutting tool fluid port.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
45 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said drive shaft extends through a fluid manifold into said rotary drive means and a portion of said drive shaft within said fluid manifold includes a fluid port for allowing fluid communication between said manifold and said hollow channel.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 16, further including a fluid trap communicating with said manifold for collecting said debris-entrained blood.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 12, further including an auxiliary fluid manifold through which said drive shaft passes, said auxiliary fluid manifold communicating with the interior of said catheter..
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 18, further including a second suction device communicating with said auxiliary fluid manifold to remove blood from said catheter.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
79 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said cutting tool has a central cavity and said fluid port extends from in front of a respective edge of a cutting flute into said center cavity, said port having a circumferential component extending into said cavity in the direction opposite the direction of rotation whereby rotation of said cutting tool within a blood vessel about the major axis of said cutting tool has a tendency to force blood inwardly through said port.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 20, further including a nose fluid port extending along said major axis from the nose of said body to said center cavity.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 21 wherein each flute terminates before reaching said nose and said nose is polished to a smooth finish.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 21 wherein each fluid port has a component extending along said major axis in a direction away from said nose so that fluid flows into said cavity away from said nose fluid port.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system of claim 23 wherein each flute extends rearwardly and circumferentially away from said nose in a spiral configuration so that rotation. of said cutting tool within a blood vessel has a tendency to force blood away from said nose and into said fluid ports.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
50 words
The system of claim 11 wherein the angle between the cutting face of. each flute and the circumference of said cutting tool is between 90 and 130 degrees in order to maximize the ability of said cutting tool to remove said relatively hard deposits without cutting said relatively soft vessel.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
55 words
The system of claim 11 wherein each flute extends rearwardly and circumferentially from one end of said cutting tool toward the other in a spiral configuration so that rotation of said cutting tool within said blood vessel has a tendency to force blood along the outer surface of said cutting tool toward said drive shaft.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 12 wherein said cutting tool has a central cavity and said fluid port extends from the nose of said cutting tool into said cavity along the major axis of said cutting tool.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 11 wherein said rotary drive means rotates said cutting tool at at least 2000 rpm.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
120 words
A method of removing abnormal, relatively hard deposits from a relatively soft vascular vessel, comprising: inserting a guiding catheter into said vessel from a point outside the body of a patient; inserting a cutting tool mounted on a flexible drive shaft into said guiding catheter and advancing said drive shaft until said cutting tool is adjacent said deposit, said cutting tool having at least one cutting flute extending along and defining its outer surface, each flute including an elongated cutting face intersecting the circumference of said tool at an angle selected so that said cutting face abrades said relatively hard deposits without cutting said relatively soft vessel; and rotating said drive shaft while advancing said cutting tool into said deposit.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
120 words
A method of removing abnormal, relatively hard deposits from a relatively soft vascular vessel, comprising: inserting a guiding catheter into said vessel from a point outside the body of a patient; inserting a cutting tool mounted on a flexible drive shaft into said guiding catheter and advancing said drive shaft until said cutting tool is adjacent said deposit, said cutting tool having at least one cutting flute extending along and defining its outer surface, each flute including an elongated cutting face intersecting the circumference of said tool at an angle selected so that said cutting face abrades said relatively hard deposits without cutting said relatively soft vessel; and rotating said drive shaft while advancing said cutting tool into said deposit.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 29 wherein said drive shaft is rotated at a speed greater than 2000 rpm.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 29, further including the steps of successively withdrawing said drive shaft and cutting tool and reinserting a drive shaft having a cutting tool of a successively larger diameter until a sufficient amount of said deposit has been removed.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 29 wherein said cutting tool has at least one fluid port and said drive shaft has a hollow channel communicating with said fluid port, said method further including the step-of withdrawing blood and deposit debris through said fluid port and hollow channel.