Patent ID: 11937871
Assignee: BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 16:
17. A method of accessing an opening of a body lumen, comprising:
inserting a flexible elongate tube of a medical device having a distal end into a patient to the opening of the body lumen;
articulating the distal end of the elongate tube toward the opening of the body lumen via at least one of a plurality of conductive wires extending within respective wire lumens through the flexible elongate tube, wherein at least a portion of each of the respective wire lumens is in the form of a longitudinal open channel that extends along a length of the elongate tube and is radially exposed along an outer surface of the elongate tube, the plurality of conductive wires connected at the distal end of the tube, each conductive wire substantially flush with the outer surface of the flexible elongate tube along a length of the distal portion and each conductive wire having a distal portion extendable radially from the respective wire lumen external to the outer surface of the elongate tube;
extending a first conductive wire of the plurality of conductive wires radially outward to a first radial distance from the elongate tube into contact with the body lumen; and
energizing at least one of the plurality of conductive wires;
wherein the plurality of conductive wires is configured to bend the distal end of the flexible elongate tube by proximally translating one or more of the plurality of conductive wires such that a distal end of the one or more translated conductive wires pulls proximally on the distal end of the flexible elongate tube, causing the distal end of the flexible elongate tube to bend in a direction of the one or more conductive wires.