Patent ID: 7623899

Claim:
A catheter comprising: an elongated flexible tubular catheter body having proximal and distal ends; an intermediate section attached to the distal end of the catheter body and comprising proximal and distal ends, the distal end of the intermediate section having a preformed curve, wherein the curve of the intermediate section is adapted to sit in a generally cavernous region of or near the heart, the intermediate section being deflectable in a direction and the curve having a curvature generally opposite to said direction; a tip assembly configured for at least one of mapping and ablation; and a flexible section connecting the tip assembly to the preformed curve at a preset off-axis angle, the flexible section adapted to permit displacement of the tip assembly from the preset off-axis angle without displacement of the preformed curve in the generally cavernous region, wherein the flexible section has a bending modulus greater than a bending modulus of the preformed curve of the intermediate section.