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US5503155A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Drive cable having internal lead wires

Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed Inc
•
Filing: 1994-01-26
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Granted: 1996-04-02
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Expires: 2014-01-26
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Abstract

Abstract A flexible drive cable comprises a flexible cable body, a pair of electrically insulated wires disposed through an axial lumen of the cable body, and a resilient support tube disposed over the wire pair. The resilient support tube provides support for the wire pair to help the wire pair recover from bending and deformation which may occur during storage or use of the drive cable. The support tube is usually liquid impermeable to maintain an air gap around the wire pair. The air gap improves shielding and maintains a constant overall impedance across the drive cable. The drive cable may be combined with an ultrasonic transducer at its distal end to form an ultrasonic transmission core.

Inventors

  • 👤 Stephen Salmon
  • 👤 Rizza Casasos
  • 👤 Veijo T. Suorsa
  • 👤 David A. White

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 21:50
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B8/00; A61B8/12; A61B8/44; A61B8/4444; A61B8/4461; B; B06; B06B; B06B1/00; B06B1/02; B06B1/06; A61B8/06; A61B8/445

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 39
Claim 1
Independent Claim 84 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body, the support tube extending substantially the entire length of the cable body.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 84 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body, the support tube extending substantially the entire length of the cable body.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 17 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 1, wherein the wires are in a twisted pair.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 27 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 2, wherein the wires are helically twisted with a pitch in the range from 1 turns/cm to 250 turns/cm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 32 words
A improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 2, wherein the support tube is generally cylindrical and fits closely over the wires so that a pair of air-filled helical voids is formed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 36 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 4, wherein the support tube is impermeable to liquids, whereby the interior of the support tube will remain dry when the drive cable is immersed in a liquid.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 28 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 1, wherein at least a distal portion of the cable body has a bending stiffness constant below about 0.15 in-lb-in.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 21 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 6, wherein the flexible cable body comprises a pair of counter-wound helical coils.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 25 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 6, wherein the insulated wires have a diameter in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.55 mm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 31 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 1, wherein the resilient support tube is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, and nylon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 39 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 9, wherein the polymeric tube has an inside diameter in the range from 0.02 mm to 1.5 mm and a wall thickness in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 92 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body wherein the wires are a helically twisted pair with a pitch in the range from 1 turn/cm to 250 turns/cm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 92 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body wherein the wires are a helically twisted pair with a pitch in the range from 1 turn/cm to 250 turns/cm.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 32 words
A improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 11, wherein the support tube is generally cylindrical and fits closely over the wires so that a pair of air-filled helical voids is formed.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 36 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 12, wherein the support tube is impermeable to liquids, whereby the interior of the support tube will remain dry when the drive cable is immersed in a liquid.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 28 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 11, wherein at least a distal portion of the cable body has a bending stiffness constant below about 0.15 in-lb-in.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 21 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 14, wherein the flexible cable body comprises a pair of counter-wound helical coils.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 25 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 14, wherein the insulated wires have a diameter in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.55 mm.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 31 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 11, wherein the resilient support tube is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, and nylon.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 39 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 17, wherein the polymeric tube has an inside diameter in the range from 0.02 mm to 1.5 mm and a wall thickness in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim 84 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, said cable body having a bending stiffness constant below about 0.15 in-lb-in, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim 84 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, said cable body having a bending stiffness constant below about 0.15 in-lb-in, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim 17 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 19, wherein the wires are in a twisted pair.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim 27 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 20, wherein the wires are helically twisted with a pitch in the range from 1 turn/cm to 250 turns/cm.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim 32 words
A improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 20, wherein the support tube is generally cylindrical and fits closely over the wires so that a pair of air-filled helical voids is formed.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim 36 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 22, wherein the support tube is impermeable to liquids, whereby the interior of the support tube will remain dry when the drive cable is immersed in a liquid.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim 21 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 19, wherein the flexible cable body comprises a pair of counter-wound helical coils.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim 25 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 24, wherein the insulated wires have a diameter in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.55 mm.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim 31 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 24, wherein the resilient support tube is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, and nylon.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim 39 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 26, wherein the polymeric tube has an inside diameter in the range from 0.02 mm to 1.5 mm and a wall thickness in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim 125 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body, wherein the resilient support tube is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, and nylon, and wherein the polymeric tube has an inside diameter in the range from 0.02 mm to 1.5 mm and a wall thickness in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim 125 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core of the type including a flexible cable body, a pair of elongate, malleable wires disposed in a lumen of the cable body, and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a distal end of the cable body and attached to the wire pair, wherein the improvement comprises a resilient polymeric support tube disposed closely over the wire pair and closely within the axial lumen of the flexible cable body, wherein the resilient support tube is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polyurethane, polyethylene, polyester, and nylon, and wherein the polymeric tube has an inside diameter in the range from 0.02 mm to 1.5 mm and a wall thickness in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim 17 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 28, wherein the wires are in a twisted pair.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim 27 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 29, wherein the wires are helically twisted with a pitch in the range from 1 turn/cm to 250 turns/cm.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim 32 words
A improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 29, wherein the support tube is generally cylindrical and fits closely over the wires so that a pair of air-filled helical voids is formed.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim 36 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 31, wherein the support tube is impermeable to liquids, whereby the interior of the support tube will remain dry when the drive cable is immersed in a liquid.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim 28 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 28, wherein at least a distal portion of the cable body has a bending stiffness constant below about 0.15 in-lb-in.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim 21 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 33, wherein the flexible cable body comprises a pair of counter-wound helical coils.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim 25 words
An improved ultrasonic transmission core as in claim 33, wherein the insulated wires have a diameter in the range from 0.01 mm to 0.55 mm.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1999-04-02 1999-10-02 2000-04-02 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2003-04-02 2003-10-02 2004-04-02 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2007-04-02 2007-10-02 2008-04-02 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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