Patent ID: 8657805

Claim:
An apparatus for accessing a difficult-to-reach tissue surface in a region of a body having a continuous interfering blood flow comprising: a flexible deployment catheter shaft capable of intravascular advancement having an articulatable assembly near or at a distal portion of the catheter, the articulatable assembly having a proximal steerable section and a distal steerable section connected distally of the proximal section; a barrier or membrane attached to a distal end of the distal steerable section such that the barrier or membrane forms a non-inflatable fluid impermeable barrier which is self-expanding from a delivery profile to a deployment profile which defines an open area surrounded by the barrier or membrane, wherein the open area is in fluid communication with a lumen defined through the catheter and with an environment external to the barrier or membrane; and, a visualization element disposed within or adjacent to the open area of the barrier or membrane for visualizing tissue adjacent to the open area, the proximal steerable section articulates with a steering guide traveling along a steering actuator, and the distal steerable section is adapted to articulate within one or more planes relative to a longitudinal axis of the proximal steerable section.