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EP0868922A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Enhanced contact steerable bowing electrode catheter assembly

Assignee: Medtronic Inc
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Filing: 1998-03-20
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2018-03-20
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Abstract

Abstract A catheter assembly (2) includes a proximal end assembly (4), with four slidable movable manipulators (12, 14, 16, 18) and a bowing catheter (6) extending from the proximal end assembly. The bowing catheter includes an elongate, flexible catheter body (24), having a tip portion (30) carrying electrodes (32), first and second elongate push/pull manipulator wires (26, 28), and a sheath (22) housing the catheter body and manipulator wires. The sheath, catheter body and manipulator wires are each coupled to a manipulator. The manipulator wires are connected to positions (40, 42) on either side of a stiff tip segment (43). The manipulator wires have sufficient columnar strength/stiffness to maintain the tip segment at a range of relatively stable orientations to cause the bowed tip to be deflected in in-plane and out-of-plane deflections.

Inventors

  • 👤 Hong Li
  • 👤 Mark A. Maguire

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-24 09:18
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61M; A61M25/00; A61M25/01; A61M25/0105; A61M25/0133; A61M25/0147; A61B; A61B18/00; A61B18/04; A61B18/12; A61B18/14; A61B18/1492; A61B18/18; A61B18/1815; A61B2018/00053; A61B2018/0016; A61B2018/0091; A61M2025/0163; A61M25/0141

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 117 words
A catheter assembly comprising: a proximal end assembly comprising first and second movable manipulators; and a catheter extending from the proximal end assembly, the catheter comprising: an elongate, flexible catheter body having a tip portion with an electrode mounted thereto; and first and second elongate push/pull manipulator elements having first and second distal ends, said first and second manipulator elements coupled to the first and second manipulators, said first and second distal ends connected to first and second spaced-apart positions along the tip portion, said first and second positions defining a tip segment therebetween; whereby manipulation of the first and second manipulators causes longitudinal movement of the first and second manipulator elements thereby deflecting the tip portion.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 62 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said first and second manipulator elements each have sufficient strength to deflect said tip portion by pushing on the tip portion when axial movement is applied to at least one of the first and second manipulator elements by said first and second manipulators; and the tip portion has a plurality of electrodes mounted thereto.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 33 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 1, wherein the tip portion comprises a chosen one o (a) a laterally-stabilized, substantially uni-directionally bending, flattened corewire, or (b) a corewire having a round cross-sectional shape.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 46 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein: the tip portion has a distal end and the second manipulator element is coupled to the distal end of the tip portion; and said first and second spaced-apart positions are separated by about 3 mm to 80 mm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 78 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein: the proximal end assembly comprises a third manipulator and the catheter body is coupled to the third manipulator; said catheter comprises a catheter sheath at least substantially housing said catheter body and the manipulator elements; said proximal end assembly comprises a fourth movable manipulator and the sheath is coupled to the fourth manipulator; and the proximal end assembly comprises a housing and the manipulators are movably mounted to the housing.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 44 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein: said catheter comprises a catheter sheath at least substantially housing said catheter body and the manipulator elements; and said proximal end assembly comprises a fourth movable manipulator and the sheath is coupled to the fourth manipulator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 89 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 6 wherein: the third manipulator is selectively securable to the catheter body to permit the second manipulator element and the catheter body to be secured to one another; the second manipulator is selectively securable to the first manipulator element to permit the manipulator elements to be secured to one another; and the fourth manipulator is selectively securable to the first and second manipulator elements and the catheter body to permit said sheath, manipulator elements and catheter body to be secured to one another.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 22 words
The catheter assembly according to claim 1 wherein the tip segment is a generally rigid tip segment with an electrode mounted thereto.

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