Patent ID: 11918763
Assignee: NEXTERN INNOVATION, LLC
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 7:
8. A hand-held catheter apparatus, comprising:
a unitary handle body extending from a proximal end to a distal end along a longitudinal axis;
a user input interface on an outer surface of the handle body, wherein the user input interface generates a rotation command signal in response to user input at the user input interface;
a rotational actuator module positioned in the handle body and having a rotatable output, wherein the rotational actuator module controls an angular rotation of the rotatable output in response to the rotation command signal;
a catheter interface rigidly coupled to a catheter structure extending distally therefrom, the catheter interface rotatably coupled to a distal end of the handle body and coupled to rotate the catheter structure about the longitudinal axis in response to rotation of the rotatable output;
a first deflection actuator disposed in the handle body and configured to impart, via a catheter deflection interface, a first deflection angle command in a first plane to a steerable tip at a distal end of the catheter structure, wherein, the handle body and the catheter structure are disposable, and, the handle body is configured to be supported by and manipulated by at least one human hand;
a feedback interface on the handle body configured to couple to the catheter interface to receive feedback signals from feedback elements in the catheter;
and, a processor disposed in the handle body and operably coupled to receive the feedback signals and to generate in response thereto a predetermined haptic feedback to a user while the user is holding the handle body, wherein:
the processor further generates the first deflection angle command in response to a first user input deflection command signal received at the user input interface;
the processor is configured to generate the predetermined haptic feedback at a predetermined amplification, wherein the predetermined amplification is based on a predetermined sensitivity of patient tissue proximate to the distal end of the steerable tip;
the processor is further configured to modulate the predetermined haptic feedback in response to the received feedback signals indicative of a volume of space proximate to the distal end of the steerable tip; and
the processor is further configured to perform pattern recognition on the received feedback signals to determine the volume of space proximate to the distal end of the steerable tip, and the processor is further configured to perform pattern recognition on the received feedback signals to determine the volume of space proximate to the distal end of the steerable tip.