Patent ID: 9707007
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61M

Claim:
1. A method of accessing the left atrium of the heart of a patient, from the right atrium and through the fossa ovalis of the heart, said method comprising the steps of: providing a punch for punching a hole in the fossa ovalis, said punch characterized by a distal end and a proximal end, said punch comprising: navigating a guide catheter until a distal end of the guide catheter is in the right atrium and proximate the fossa ovalis; pushing the punch through the guide catheter until the distal tip of the inner tube is within the distal end of the guide catheter; bending the distal end of the punch by tensioning the inner tube relative to the outer tube, to place the distal tip of the inner tube and the distal end of the guide catheter in apposition to the fossa ovalis; pushing the punch distally, relative to the guide catheter, to force the distal tip out of the distal end of the guide catheter and through the fossa ovalis to create a puncture in the fossa ovalis; pushing distal end of the guide catheter through the puncture created by the punch, so that the distal tip of the guide catheter is disposed within the left atrium; and withdrawing the punch from the guide catheter.