Patent ID: 7637916

Claim:
A medical electrical lead implant tool, comprising: an elongate shaft including a proximal end and a distal end; a gripping assembly terminating the distal end of the shaft and adapted to alternately grasp the lead and release the lead and to rotate the lead; a drive cable coupled to the gripping assembly and extending proximally therefrom within the shaft; and a user control terminating the proximal end of the shaft and including a shaft guide member coupled to the shaft, a stationary handle coupled to the shaft guide member, a slidable and rotatable dial coupled to a proximal end of the drive cable and positioned in between the shaft guide member and the stationary handle, and an aperture formed between the shaft guide member and the handle to expose the slidable and rotatable dial; wherein the user control facilitates single-handed manipulation of the slidable, rotatable dial, which may be grasped by fingers of a hand for longitudinal and rotational manipulation when the stationary handle is held in a palm of the hand; the longitudinal manipulation causing the gripping assembly, via the drive cable, to alternately grasp the lead and release the lead and the rotational manipulation causing the gripping assembly, via the drive cable, to rotate the lead.