Expandable cage catheter with a rotatable guide

Claim 1

A steerable vascular catheter for repairing a section of an arterial lining damaged by a vascular procedure which results in an occlusion or a partial occlusion of the artery by maintaining the patency of the damaged arterial lining over an extended period while allowing the perfusion of blood therethrough, comprising: (a) an elongated catheter body having an inner lumen extending therethrough; (b) an expandable cage secured to the distal end of the catheter body which is formed from a plurality of spirally arranged strands and which has sufficient radial strength in the expanded condition to hold open a damaged arterial section; (c) a guiding member rotatably disposed within the inner lumen of the elongated catheter body having a distal portion extending through the interior of the expandable cage and out the distal end thereof with a flexible body disposed about the distal portion of the guiding member which extends out of the distal end of the expandable cage; (d) means to secure the distal portion of the guiding member to the distal end of the expandable cage so that there can be essentially no relative longitudinal movement therebetween but which allows the guiding member to rotate within the distal end of the expandable cage; (e) means on the proximal end of the guiding member to axially rotate the guiding member so as to rotate the distal portion thereof which extends out the distal end of the expandable cage and thereby steer the catheter within the patient's arterial system; (f) means to move the guiding member proximally within the inner lumen of the catheter to decrease the axial spacing between the distal and proximal ends of the expandable cage and thereby increase the radial dimensions thereof and thereby hold open a damaged section of arterial lining and to move the guiding member distally within the inner lumen of the catheter body to increase the axial spacing between the distal and proximal ends of the expandable member to reduce the radial dimension thereof sufficiently to remove the expandable cage from the damaged arterial lining.

Claim 11

A method for repairing a section of a patient's artery which has been damaged by a vascular procedure therein which can result in an occluded or partially occluded artery, comprising: (a) providing a steerable vascular catheter, comprising: (i) an elongated catheter body having an inner lumen extending therethrough; (ii) an expandable cage secured to the distal end of the catheter body which is formed from a plurality of spirally arranged strands and which is adapted to be expanded against the damaged section of the arterial lining to maintain the patency thereof; (iii) a guiding member rotatably disposed within the inner lumen of the elongated catheter body having a distal portion extending through the interior of the expandable cage and out the distal end thereof with a flexible body disposed about the distal portion of the guiding member which extends out of the distal ned of the expandable cage; (iv) means to secure the distal portion of the guiding member to the distal end of the expandable cage which prevents relative axial movement therebetween but which allows rotational movement therebetween; (v) means on the proximal end of the guiding member to axially rotate the guiding member within the inner lumen of the catheter body to rotate the distal end which extends out of the expandable cage and thereby steer the catheter within the patient's arterial system; and (vi) means on the proximal end to move the guiding member proximally within the inner lumen of the catheter body to decrease the axial spacing between the distal and proximal ends of the expandable cage and thereby increase the radial dimensions thereof and to move the guiding member distally within the inner lumen to increase the axial spacing between the distal and proximal ends of the expandable cage and thereby decrease the radial dimensions thereof; (b) advancing the catheter through the patient's arterial system while operating the means to rotate the guiding member to steer the distal tip of the catheter until the expandable cage is disposed within the site of the damaged section of the arterial lining; (c) operating the means to move the guiding member proximally within the inner lumen to reduce the axial distance between the ends of the expandable cage and thereby expand the cage to hold open the damaged section of the arterial lining; (d) holding the expandable cage in the expanded condition within the damaged section of the arterial lining for an extended period; (e) operating the means to move the guiding member within the inner lumen to increase the axial distance between the ends of the expandable cage and thereby reduce the radial dimension of the expandable cage; and (f) removing the catheter from the patient.

Claim 12

A method for repairing a section of a patient's artery which has been damaged by a vascular procedure therein which can result in an occluded or partially occluded artery, comprising: (a) providing a steerable vascular catheter, comprising: (i) an elongated catheter body having an inner lumen extending therethrough; (ii) an expandable cage secured to the distal end of the catheter body which is formed from a plurality of spirally arranged strands and which is adapted to be expanded against the damaged section of the arterial lining to maintain the patency thereof; (iii) a guiding member rotatably disposed within the inner lumen of the elongated catheter body having a distal portion extending through the interior of the expandable cage and out the distal end thereof with a flexible body disposed about the distal portion of the guiding member which extends out of the distal ned of the expandable cage; (iv) means to secure the distal portion of the guiding member to the distal end of the expandable cage which prevents relative axial movement therebetween but which allows rotational movement therebetween; (v) means on the proximal end of the guiding member to axially rotate the guiding member within the inner lumen of the catheter body to rotate the distal end which extends out of the expandable cage and thereby steer the catheter within the patient's arterial system; and (vi) means on the proximal end to move the guiding member proximally within the inner lumen of the catheter body to decrease the axial spacing between the distal and proximal ends of the expandable cage and thereby increase the radial dimensions thereof and to move the guiding member distally within the inner lumen to increase the axial spacing between the distal and proximal ends of the expandable cage and thereby decrease the radial dimensions thereof; (b) advancing the catheter through the patient's arterial system while operating the means to rotate the guiding member to steer the distal tip of the catheter until the expandable cage is disposed within the site of the damaged section of the arterial lining; (c) operating the means to move the guiding member proximally within the inner lumen to reduce the axial distance between the ends of the expandable cage and thereby expand the cage to hold open the damaged section of the arterial lining; (d) holding the expandable cage in the expanded condition within the damaged section of the arterial lining for an extended period; (e) operating the means to move the guiding member within the inner lumen to increase the axial distance between the ends of the expandable cage and thereby reduce the radial dimension of the expandable cage; and (f) removing the catheter from the patient.