Patent ID: 7785286

Claim:
A method of using a manually steered rapid exchange catheter to image, diagnose, and/or treat an area of interest in a patient's body, comprising: introducing a guidewire to an area of interest in a patient's body; loading the manually steered rapid exchange catheter on the guidewire, the manually steered rapid exchange catheter comprising: a proximal portion; a distal portion including a guidewire passage having both an entry and exit; an imaging, diagnosing, and/or treating device positioned within the proximal portion, the device being manually rotated to affect steering of energy emitted by the device; and a rotational joint that couples the distal portion and the proximal portion advancing the manually steered rapid exchange catheter along the guidewire to the area of interest; and manually steering the manually steered rapid exchange catheter by rotating the imaging, diagnosing and/or treating device contained within the proximal portion of the manually steered rapid exchange catheter, while maintaining the distal portion rotationally stationary, to image, diagnose, and/or treat the area of interest.