EP0521595A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Torquable catheter and method
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1992-02-17
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-02-17
Abstract
Abstract The disclosure relates to a catheter (21) having a high torque capability adapted to be inserted into and through a lumen of a blood vessel comprising a flexible elongate tubular shaft (22) having proximal and distal extremities (23, 24). The shaft (22) is comprised of a torque tube (31) extending substantially the entire length of the shaft (22). The torque tube (31) has a cylindrical wall with at least one flexible portion (31a, 31b, 31c) therein with the flexible portion being characterised in that at least one slot (41) is provided in the cylindrical wall subtending an angle of less than 360 o . A flexible sleeve (46) encloses the torque tube (31) and serves to cover the flexible portion while transmitting the torque tube (31) to bend in the vicinity of the slot (41) a predetermined amount which is less than that which would create a permanent strain in the torque tube (31).
Inventors
- 👤 Ingemar H. Lundquist
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-22 23:21
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61M; A61M25/00; A61M25/01; A61M25/0105; A61M25/0133; A61M25/0138; A61B; A61B18/00; A61B18/04; A61B18/12; A61B18/14; A61B18/1492; A61M25/0043; A61M25/005; A61M25/0051; A61M25/0053; A61M25/0136; A61M25/0147; A61N; A61N1/00; A61N1/02; A61N1/04; A61N1/06; A61B2018/00571; A61B2018/00577; A61B2018/0091; A61B2018/00916; A61M2025/015; A61M2025/0161
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
135 words
A catheter comprising an elongated flexible body having an axis, a proximal end, and a distal end, the body including a tubular wall having at least one slotted-wall segment that includes at least one slot extending through the wall that subtends an angle of less than 380 o to impart additional flexibility and a flexible sleeve encasing the slotted-wall segment to permit the slotted wall segment to bend about the axis without breaking, first means on the proximal end of the body for applying rotational torque for rotating the body about the axis by transmitting the rotational torque to and through the slotted-wall segment, and second means on the proximal end of the body and extending to the distal end of the body for transmitting a bending force to the distal end of the body.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
91 words
A catheter according to Claim 1 wherein the slotted wall segment is slotted to impart a first degree of flexibility about the axis, wherein the tubular wall includes a second segment that is spaced from the first mentioned segment and that has at least one slot that subtends at an angle of less than 360 o to impart a second degree of flexibility different than the first degree of flexibility and wherein the flexible sleeve also encloses the second slotted segment and permits the second slotted segment to bend without breaking.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
74 words
A catheter according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the first means is a handle adapted to be grasped by the human hand and wherein the second means includes first and second pull strings secured between the handle and the distal end of the body and extending through the body and means carried by the handle for pulling on said pull strings for causing the bending of the distal end of the body.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
81 words
A catheter as in Claim 3 wherein said tubular wall is provided with a tip section and a tractable section proximal of the tip section together with means for connecting one of said pull strings to said tip section and the other of said pull strings to said tractable section whereby the tip section can be bent by pulling on one of said pull strings and the tractable section can be bent by pulling on the other of said pull strings.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
78 words
A catheter according to Claim 4 wherein said one pull string is secured to said tip section at the distal extremity of the tip section and wherein said other pull string is secured to the tractable section at the distal extremity of the tractable section together with anchoring means for anchoring the tip section at the proximal extremity of the tip section and anchoring means for anchoring the tractable section at the proximal extremity of the tractable section.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
A catheter as in any preceding claim wherein the tubular wall is provided with a tip section having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart slots substantially in radial alignment with each other and serving to provide a rib extending longitudinally of the tip section and generally lying in a plane.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
A catheter as in Claim 6 wherein said slots in said tip section subtend various angles to provide a backbone at least a portion of which is tapered to provide variable flexibilities in the tip section.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
118 words
A catheter according to Claim 3 wherein the distal extremity of said tubular wall has a coil spring therein which is substantially imcompressible in a direction parallel to the axis of the tubular wall, a bendable element having first and second ends supported by the substantially incompressible coil spring portion of the flexible tubular element, and wherein the second means includes first and second flexible pull elements extending through the body and being connected to said bendable element in spaced apart positions on the bendable element, a flexible sheath disposed over said bendable element and said first and second flexible pull elements whereby when said pull elements are pulled, the bendable element will bend in relatively smooth curves.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
109 words
In a method for mapping a chamber in the heart by use of a catheter having proximal and distal extremities and by having at least one electrode carried by the distal extremity, rotating the proximal extremity of the catheter after the distal extremity of the catheter has been positioned in the chamber of the heart by a small incremental distance by bringing the electrode into contact with the wall of the heart and making a potential measurement, thereafter rotating the proximal extremity of the catheter an additional incremental amount, bringing the electrode of the catheter into contact with the wall of the heart and making an additional potential measurement.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
122 words
A method as in Claim 9 for positioning a catheter in a vessel with the catheter having proximal and distal extremities, and having first and second pull lines with distal extremities secured to the distal extremity of the catheter and means for applying a tension to the pull lines, the catheter having a tip section and a tractable section proximal of the tip section, the method further comprising the steps of forming a slight bend in the tractable section of the catheter outside of the vessel, introducing the catheter into the vessel and using one of the pull lines to place an additional bend in the tractable section, and utilizing the other pull line to place a bend in the tip section.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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