Patent ID: 6171277
Filing Date: 2001-01-09
Classification: A61B,A61M

Abstract:
A bi-directionsl steerable catheter comprising:a catheter body having a tubular wall, proximal and distal ends, and at least one lumen extending therethrough;a tip section comprising flexible tubing having proximal and distal ends and at least one lumen extending therethrough, the proximal end of the tip section being fixedly attached to the distal end of the catheter body;a control handle mounted at its distal end to the proximal end of the catheter body comprising:a housing having proximal and distal ends;a generally-circular spur gear rotatably mounted within the housing, the spur gear having gear teeth about its outer circumference;a pair of spaced apart rack gears slidably mounted longitudinally on diametrically opposed sides of the spur gear within the housing, each rack gear having an interior edge generally facing the interior edge of the other rack gear and comprising gear teeth along its interior edge for engaging the gear teeth of the spur gear, each rack gear being longitudinally movable between first and second positions, whereby proximal movement of one rack gear results in rotational movement of the spur gear and distal movement of the other rack gear; anda manually movable member fixedly attached to one rack gear and extending radially out of the housing through a slot in the housing; anda pair of puller wires having proximal and distal ends, each puller wire extending from the control handle through a lumen in the catheter body and into an off axis lumen in the tip section, the distal end of each puller wire being fixedly attached to the tip section and the proximal end of each puller wire being anchored to a separate associated rack gear in the control handle whereby proximal movement of a rack gear and its associated puller wire relative to the catheter body results in deflection of the tip section in the direction of the off axis lumen into which that puller wire extends.