Atherectomy devices and methods

Claim 1

1 . A vascular device for cutting and removing material from body lumens, the device comprising: a catheter body sized and configured for axial advancement in the body lumen, the catheter body having a center axis along which axial advancement occurs and including spaced apart proximal and distal ends, the distal end being sized and configured for rotation about the center axis from the proximal end of the catheter body, a cutter assembly having an outside diameter attached at the distal end of the catheter body, the cutter assembly comprising a housing having at least one opening and a cutter having at least one helical cutting surface configured to rotate about the central axis relative to the housing to cut and convey the occlusive material from the body lumen into the housing; a drive mechanism at the proximal end of the catheter body; a torque shaft coupled to the drive mechanism and extending through the catheter body and coupled to the cutter to rotate the helical cutting surface about the center axis relative to the housing, a deflecting mechanism slidable within the catheter body in response to a force applied at the proximal end of the catheter body for deflecting the cutter assembly relative to the center axis of the catheter body to point the cutter assembly toward a side of the body lumen without necessitating axial advancement of the catheter body in the body lumen, and a torque control device separate from the deflecting mechanism to rotate the distal end of the catheter body while the cutter assembly is deflected, to sweep the cutter assembly in an arc about the center axis to cut occlusive material in a region larger than the outside diameter of the cutter assembly, wherein the torque control device manually or automatically controls the sweep of the cutter assembly.