Patent ID: 9226648
Filing Date: 2016-01-05
CPC Classification: A61B

Claim Text:
1. A system for visualizing a tissue region of interest, comprising: a deployment catheter defining at least one lumen therethrough; a hood projecting distally from the deployment catheter and defining an open area therein, wherein the open area is in fluid communication with the at least one lumen; an imaging element for visualizing tissue adjacent to the open area; and a flexible section which forms a channel extending at least partially proximally from an exterior of the hood, the flexible section being separably expandable with respect to the hood such that the flexible section is capable of having both a collapsed profile and an expanded profile when the hood is in a fully expanded configuration for receiving the imaging element upon deployment of the hood, wherein the imaging element is moved from a first location which is axially in-line with a longitudinal axis of the catheter to a second location within the channel which is laterally off-axis relative to the longitudinal axis of the catheter.