Catheter having unirail pullwire architecture

US8894610B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Hansen Medical, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Francis Macnamara · Newton, US
• Joseph Bogusky · San Jose, US
• Arkady Kokish · Los Gatos, US
• Enrique Romo · Danville, US
• Jason Hsu · Mountain View, US
• Kiran Murthy · Sunnyvale, US
• Leena Kadakia · Foster City, US
• Helen Truong · Sunnyvale, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 28, 2012
• Grant date: Nov 25, 2014
• Expiry date: Mar 24, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A61M25/0141
• WIPO field: Medical technology
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A steerable catheter comprises a flexible catheter body including a proximal shaft section and a distal articulating section, a proximal steering interface coupled to the proximal shaft section, and at least one hollow stiffening member extending through the proximal shaft section. The stiffening member(s) is more rigid than the proximal shaft section and is laterally offset from a geometric cross-sectional center of the proximal shaft section. The steerable catheter further comprises circumferentially spaced lumens extending through the distal articulating section, and pullwires extending through the stiffening member(s) in the proximal shaft section and the respective lumens in the distal articulating section. Each of the pullwires has a distal end that terminates in the catheter body distal to the distal articulating section and a proximal end that terminates in the steering interface. The steering interface is manipulatable to selectively tension the pullwires to bend the distal articulating section.