Patent ID: 7985215

Claim:
A catheter, comprising: a catheter body having a proximal portion and a distal portion said distal portion including a peripheral side wall; a selectively deflectable segment in the distal portion, wherein said deflectable segment is substantially tubular having a central lumen, wherein the deflectable segment has side wall stiffening structure at least partially embedded in said peripheral side wall of said distal portion, said selectively deflectable segment having a first bending stiffness for deflection in a first plane and a second bending stiffness for deflection in a second plane and wherein the first bending stiffness and the second bending stiffness are different; a tip electrode, disposed at a distal end of said catheter body; and deflection actuating structure including: an annular ring disposed between the distal portion of said deflectable segment and said tip electrode, wherein an aperture of said annular ring is aligned with said central lumen of said selectively deflectable segment; and first and second pull wires extending from said proximal portion and being interconnected to said annular ring, wherein said first and second pull wires are disposed substantially in-plane with one of said first and second planes so as to allow a user to selectively deflect said deflectable segment substantially in the other one of said first and second planes.