Patent ID: 6266550
Filing Date: 2001-07-24
Classification: A61B,A61M

Abstract:
An apparatus for creating a path through an arterial occlusion, comprising:a intra-arterial catheter shaft having distal end and a proximal end and at least one lumen therethrough;a working element comprising;an inner shaft slidably disposed in a lumen of the catheter shaft having a distal end zone projecting from the distal end of the catheter shaft;a nose cone coupled to the distal end zone of the inner shaft; anda sharp, pointed distal end proximate to a distal end of the nose cone; anda plurality of dissecting wires wherein each dissecting wire comprises a proximal end coupled to the distal end of the catheter shaft and a distal end coupled to a proximal end of the nose cone, and a medial portion between the distal end and the proximal end, wherein each of the dissecting wires is substantially aligned with a central axis of the catheter shaft between its proximal end and its distal end, and wherein as the catheter shaft is urged through the occlusion, the nose cone contacts tissue, which slows the distal progress of the working element relative to the distal progress of the catheter shaft, causing the medial portion of each of the plurality of dissecting wires to bow outward from the central axis of the catheter shaft while maintaining the substantial alignment with the central axis of the catheter shaft such that the dissecting wires blunt dissect tissues encountered by the dissecting wires as the dissecting wires advance distally.